gooseberries (forum)

Eva starts with ...
Can anyone identify the plant that looks like a gooseberry but has blue and white flowers and a hard, light brown ball of fruit
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Time: 12th February 2018 6:07pm

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About the Author Eva
Boondall
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denise1 says...
I am pretty sure it is Nicandra physalodes also known as Shoo-fly plant. I have seen them for sale as plants or seeds amongst useful or ornamental herb plants. It is not for eating. It often pops up after birdseed drops on the ground as it is sometimes a weed in the seed growing fields. I dont know of it being a bad weed.

Time: 17th February 2018 6:50pm

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auckland NZ
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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Eva

The plant that you were holding is called apple of Peru or shoofly, wild gooseberry, chinese lantern etc (Nicandra Physalodes) originally from Peru brought in as ornamental plant but escaped, naturalized and became a weed.

There are conflicting reports about it's toxicity, some people say its poisonous some say it's not. Avoid ingesting it just to be safe. Some people use it as a fly repellent and bait. They crush the leaves and rub it on their skin to discourage flies around them. They also mix the crushed leaves with milk to attract and poison the flies. You can try it's Insecticidal properties if you want.

I have also uploaded a picture of N. Physalodes blossom for verification purposes.

Happy Gardening :-)
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Time: 17th February 2018 9:37pm

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Original Post was last edited: 18th February 2018 5:20am

About the Author Fruitylicious1
TAMWORTH,2340,NSW
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Eva says...
Thank you, that is helpful information

Time: 19th February 2018 9:55am

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About the Author Eva
Boondall
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Posts: 3
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