Cape gooseberry
Physalis peruviana
Also called Goldenberry, Inca berry and Physalis peruviana
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitThe paper lantern tells you when: leave the fruit until the husk is dry and straw-coloured and the berry drops off by itself. Picked green it is a Solanum, and unripe Solanum fruit is not food.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 4 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Every 21 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Tender — no frost at all RHS H2, to 1°C
- Size
- 1.5 m tall · 1 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- The Andes
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- A big lush bush by August with hardly a lantern on it. It has been fed too well — this one crops better in poor soil and a pot than in a rich bed.All leaf and no fruit · disorder
- A cloud of tiny white moths lifting off when the plant is brushed, and a sticky shine on the leaves below them. Worst under glass, which is where this plant usually is.Whitefly · pest