Cape gooseberry is a perennial, somewhat vining plant usually reaching 2-3
ft. in height. Under good conditions it can reach 6 ft, but will need
support. The purplish, spreading branches are ribbed and covered with fine
hairs. Oppositely arranged leaves are heart-shaped, 2.5-6 inches long.
Flowers are bell-shaped, nodding, and arise in leaf axils. They are yellow
in color with dark purple-brown spots in the throat, and cupped by a
purplish-green, hairy sepal cup. Fruit buds are produced after 12-13 stem
internodes are formed. After the flower falls, the calyx expands, forming
a straw-colored husk much larger than the fruit enclosed. The fruit is a
berry with smooth, waxy, orange-yellow skin and juicy pulp containing
numerous very small yellowish seeds. Cape gooseberry is native to South
America, but was widely cultivated in South Africa.
Identification credit: Pravir Deshmukh
Photographed in Arunachal Pradesh & Delhi.
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The flower labeled Cape Gooseberry is ...