Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.

Global description

Nicandra physalodes is an herbaceous, erect plant that forms a small, abundantly branched bush. The stem is thick, hollow and ridged. The leaves are alternate. They form an ovate to elliptical shape. They are hairless. The margin is irregularly serrated. The flowers look like blue purple bells, inserted at the base of the leaves. The fruit is a berry, yellow to green, contained in a kind of foliaceous angular lantern-shaped bag, which dries out at maturity. It contains many seeds.

Cotyledons

Cotyledons are ovate to lanceolate, carried by a long pubescent petiole. Blade is glabrous, finely pubescent on the margin, 1.6 cm long and 1 cm wide.

First leaves

First leaves are simple and alternate, long stalked. The blade is ovate to lanceolate, wedged at the base and at apex, margin sinuous to irregularly serrated. Leave surfaces are glabrous, with clearly visible ribs.

General habit

Herbaceous annual weed, erect, forming a small widely branched shrub. It grows up to 1.5 m high.

Underground system

Deep taproot.

Stem

Stem is soft, upright, polygonal and hollow. Light green and glabrous or sparsely pubescent. It can measure up to 5 cm in diameter at the base and be more or less woody.

Leaf

Leaves are alternate, simple, held by a petiole of 5 cm long, which seems winged due to the attenuation of the lamina. The lamina is oval elliptical, waffled, 8 to 12 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide. The wedged base is more or less attenuated along the petiole. The apex is wedged. Both surfaces are smooth or sparsely with a few white short hairs, marked with clear visible pinnate nerves. The margin is irregularly serrated and undulate.

Flower

Flowers are solitary and axillary, 4 cm in diameter, campanulate, carried by a stalk of 2 to 3 cm long. The calyx has five sepals, 1.5 cm long, membranous, green, sagitate, partially fused, whose contiguous edges form keels . They have a reticulate venation. The corolla is campanulate, white at the base and ended with five blue purple rounded lobes. It is 2.5 to 3 cm in length and in diameter. 5 short stamens are set at the base of the corolla on a crown (anthers yellow). The pistil has a superior, globular ovary, with 3 carpels and numerous ovules, white style and yellow stigma in club shaped.

Fruit

Fruits are berries, 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter, yellow when ripe, included in a calyx transformed into a hanging vesicle, initially green then brown, becoming papery when dried and which opens from the top at maturity. It contains 30 to 360 seeds.

Seed

Seeds are lenticular, 2 mm in diameter. Warty tegument, orange in colour.