Yes I’ve read the same that Physalis peruviana are indeed trigger to flower in shorter days. This is why most gardeners stuggle to get them to fruit in their season.
Physalis pruinosa isn’t part of that complex, it’s actually a wild Mexican species that we incorrectly as gardeners & seed sellers been applying this whole time.
The true Physalis pruinosa is actually a wild mexican species previously classified as Physalis maxima.
The real Physalis pruinosa is actually a wild Mexican Species that looks like this.
All of the typical Physalis pruinosa sold are actually Physalis grisea this whole time.
Meaning The actual correct scientific name for Aunt Molly’s Groundcherry is Physalis grisea.
The flowers of Physalis grisea look like this, identical with Aunt Molly’s Groundcherry. Anyone who’s been growing “Physalis pruinosa" can you confirm your plant’s flowers look like this?
For those who are curious about my sources & why I came to this conclusion
Here’s the study I got the photos from : Frontiers | Taxonomic revision of Physalis in Mexico
Physalis grisea & Physalis pubescens do form a species complex with very few differences.
I made a Physalis species ID guide to distinguish them
I also made a Wiki page on Physalis & all other closely related genera specifically
The section classification of Physalis is very loose & polyphyletic. This is because every species of the Subgenus Rydbergis is theoretically cross-compatible. The sections are just loose groupings. No phylogenetic tree with all Physalis species has been made yet.
This is the closest but a lot of species are still missing (This is the whole Physaleae tribe)
