Cutleaf groundcherry
Physalis angulata L.
Tầm bóp (Physalis angulata), also called cutleaf groundcherry or wild gooseberry, is an annual herb of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) found across the tropics; its yellow berries ripen inside a papery lantern-like calyx, are edible, and the young shoots are eaten as greens and used in folk medicine.
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Gallery
Tầm bóp — Fruiting branch with inflated calycesTầm bóp — Wild plant
Tầm bóp — Leaves
Tầm bóp — Flower
Tầm bóp — Fruit in lantern
Tầm bóp — Stem with flowers & leavesTầm bóp — Fruiting branch with inflated calycesTầm bóp — Wild plantLife cycle
From seed to productPlant
Erect annual herb with ribbed stems, forming small clumps.
Leaves
Ovate, shallowly toothed, alternate leaves.
Flower
Five-angled pale yellow bell flower with five brown basal spots.
Fruit
Yellow-orange berry inside the papery lantern calyx.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Tropical America (native)30%
- Southeast Asia (incl. Vietnam)25%
- East Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan)15%
- India & Africa15%
- Australia & Pacific islands15%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- Water75%
- Sugars (ripe fruit)10%
- Fibre8%
- Protein4%
- Physalins & withanolides (bioactives)2%
- Vitamins & minerals1%
Uses
- Food: the ripe berries are mildly sweet, eaten fresh or as jam; young shoots and leaves are gathered as boiled greens or soup vegetable ('rau lu lu cái')
- Folk medicine: the whole plant contains physalins and withanolides — used as anti-inflammatory, painkiller, febrifuge, diuretic and poultice for boils across the tropics
- Ecology: the wild plant's seeds feed birds; the papery calyx is used in dried-flower decoration; it spreads quickly and is a weed of cultivated land in some regions
- Research: physalins are studied for anticancer, antiparasitic and immunomodulatory activities in modern pharmacology
Properties
- Form
- Annual herb growing wild
- Product
- Edible berries; leaf vegetable; folk medicine
- Hallmark
- Lantern-like inflated calyx around a yellow berry
- Uses
- Fruit, vegetable, jam, medicine
Habitat & conservation
Tầm bóp favours open, moist, sunny ground: field margins, roadsides, orchards, waste lots and cracks in walls; nutrient-rich, well-drained soil. It grows wild throughout the tropics and subtropics — Vietnam, China, Japan, India, Africa, the Americas and Oceania; commonly seen on post-harvest fields, canal banks and around villages.
Conservation
A widespread, fast-spreading species not under threat — classified as Least Concern (LC). Nightshade family (Solanaceae), genus Physalis — the same family as tomato, eggplant, chilli, tobacco and potato.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Physalis angulata L. — Kew Science, 2026
- 2Physalis angulata (cutleaf groundcherry) — description, distribution, ecology — Wikipedia tiếng Anh, 2026
- 3Tầm bóp (Physalis angulata) — Wikipedia tiếng Việt — Wikipedia tiếng Việt, 2026
- 4苦蘵 Physalis angulata — 形態、分布與利用 — Wikipedia tiếng Trung, 2026
- 5Nguồn ảnh: M108t (CC BY 4.0); Nativeplants garden (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Forest and Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0 US) — Wikimedia Commons,