Weed Seed: Nicandra physalodes (Apple of Peru)

Family

Solanaceae

Common Name

Apple of Peru

Regulation

Primary Noxious, Class 2 in the Canadian Weed Seeds Order, 2016, 2016 under the Seeds Act.

Distribution

Canadian: Occurs in ON, QC and ephemeral in BC, NS, PE (Darbyshire 2003^Footnote 1, Brouillet et al. 2016^Footnote 2).

Worldwide: Native to South America and widely introduced elsewhere, including North America, Asia, Africa, eastern Europe, Australia and New Zealand (CABI 2016^Footnote 3, USDA-ARS 2016^Footnote 4). In the United States it occurs mainly in the east and midwestern regions, with a scattered occurrence in the central and western states (Kartesz 2011^Footnote 5).

Duration of life cycle

Annual

Seed or fruit type

Seed

Identification features

Size

• Seed diameter: 1.0 - 1.3 mm
• Seed thickness: 0.3 mm

Shape

• Seed is round to kidney-shaped, strongly compressed

Surface Texture

• Seed is glossy; strongly reticulate with small wavy-edged cells

Colour

• Seed is orange to brownish-orange

Other Features

• Hilum is a small slit along the narrow edge of the seed.

Habitat and Crop Association

Cultivated fields, old fields, old gardens, roadsides and disturbed areas (Scoggan 1979^Footnote 6, Gleason and Cronquist 1991^Footnote 7, Darbyshire 2003^Footnote 1). Infests a wide range of crops, including cereals, soybeans, beans, corn and vegetables, as well as pastures, orchards and vineyards (CABI 2016^Footnote 3).

General Information

Apple of Peru is occasionally planted as an ornamental and may escape cultivation. It may also be dispersed as a contaminant in grain and birdseed (National Botanic Garden of Belgium 2013^Footnote 8).

Similar species

Husk tomato (Physalis pubescens)

• Husk tomato seeds are a similar size, round shape, with a glossy and wrinkled surface as apple of Peru.
• Husk tomato seeds differ from apple of Peru by: lighter colour and an indistinct surface pattern. The cells of husk tomato are wavy-edged, shallow, and are pulled at the hilum and along the narrow edge. The cells of apple of Peru are deep, well-defined and appear the same across the seed.

Photos

Similar species