Skip to main content

Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana)

Ceplukan madu or cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) is a plant in the Solanaceae, annual and perennial shrub, erect and branching and spreading, 1-1.5 meters high, stems cylindrical or square, green or black in color and white hairs.

P. peruviana has heart-shaped leaves, green and white-haired, pointed ends, margins flat or serrated, a vein in the middle with many small pinnate veins. The leaves have long stalks.

Dlium Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana)


Hermaphrodite flowers, bell-shaped and drooping, 15-20 mm in diameter, yellow with purple-brown spots on the inside. After the flowers fall, the petals expand, eventually forming a cream-colored skin that completely covers the fruit.

The fruit is round, smooth surface, 1.25-2 cm wide, bright yellow to orange in color and sweet when ripe, slightly sour.



Cape gooseberry grows in forests, forest edges and riparian areas at elevations of 500-3000 meters. Fruit is eaten fresh or processed as an ingredient in sauces, pies, puddings, chutneys, jams and ice cream.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Physaleae
Genus: Physalis
Species: Physalis peruviana

Popular Posts

False ashoka (Monoon longifolium)

False ashoka ( Monoon longifolium ) is a plant species in the Annonaceae, a small tree, evergreen, up to more than 20 meters high, symmetrical pyramidal with pendulous branches, hardwood, easy to grow and very adaptive. M. longifolium has long narrow lanceolate leaves with wavy edges, 25 cm long, 6 cm wide, copper brown pigmentation but over time becomes bright green and finally dark green. Pale green flowers resemble delicate stars. The flowering period is usually 2-3 weeks. Fruits in 10-20 pieces, round, up to 2 cm wide, green but turn purple or black when ripe. Trees are used to filter air pollution. Leaves are used for decorative decoration during festivals. Trees are easily pruned into various shapes and maintained in the required size. Flexible, straight and light rods are used in making sailing ship masts. Wood for making pencils, boxes and matches. Seed oil has anti-oxidant, anti-lipooxygenase and antimicrobial activity. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: An...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

Black potato ( Coleus rotundifolius ) is a species of plant in Lamiaceae, herbaceous, fibrous roots and tubers, erect and slightly creeping stems, quadrangular, thick, and slightly odorous. Single leaves, thick, membranous, opposite and alternate. Leaves are oval, dark green and shiny on the upper side, bright green on the lower side. Up to 5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, slightly hairy and pinnate leaf veins. Leaf stalks up to 4 cm long. Small, purple flowers. Star-shaped petals, lip-shaped crown, dark to light purple with a slightly curved tube shape. Flowering from February-August. Small tubers, brown and white flesh and tuber length 2-4 cm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Nepetoideae Tribe: Ocimeae Subtribe: Plectranthinae Genus: Coleus Species: Coleus rotundifolius