Plants: erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb
Leaves: simple, oval with a pointed end
Flowers: cream to white with pale yellow center, 5-parted, 1"-1 1/2" wide, saucer-shaped, stalked; inflorescence usually 2-4 flowers from the upper leaf axils; blooms June-Aug.
Fruits: berry almost filling the open-tipped covering
Habitat: dry; in rocky, sandy soil
Conservation Status: Special Concern
Clearings, burned areas, and trails in pine barrens and northern forests (mesic to dry), also gravelly riverbanks, sandy roadsides, bare soil along streams, and disturbed sedge meadows; to be expected in vacant lots and refuse dumps; persisting no more than 2 or 3 years at a site unless the disturbance is maintained (fide Voss & Reznicek, 2012, p. 896). In Wisconsin not much collected after 1970 and rare in much of its range, which extends as a narrow band from southern Quebec and northern New England across the northern Great Lakes region into Saskatchewan.
Somewhat resembling the true ground-cherries (Physalis spp.), but easily recognized by the white (or violet-tinged) flowers, which are 3–5 (–8) cm wide, and the green fruiting calyx, which is enlarged but not bladdery and appressed to most of the berry.
