Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.

Synonyms

Atropa physalodes L.

Family

Solanaceae

Common Names

apple of Peru, apple-of-Peru, Chinese lantern, Peru apple, shoo fly, shoofly, shoo-fly plant, shoofly plant, shoofly-plant, shooflyplant, wild gooseberry, wild hops

Origin

Native to western South America (i.e. Peru).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is widely naturalised, and is most abundant in the coastal districts of eastern Australia. It is most common in south-eastern Queensland and eastern New South Wales. Less common or scattered in the coastal districts of central and northern Queensland, in inland southern Queensland, in inland northern New South Wales, in Victoria and Tasmania, in some parts of southern South Australia and in the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia.

Also naturalised on Norfolk Island and widely naturalised overseas, including in the USA, China, Japan, south-eastern Asia (i.e. Indonesia and Thailand), New Zealand and on several Pacific islands (i.e. the Galápagos Islands, New Caledonia and Hawaii).

Notes

Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes) was originally introduced as a garden plant (i.e. ornamental), but has become a weed of crops, disturbed sites, waste areas, roadsides, gardens, riparian areas and forest margins. It is most well known as a widespread weed of crops and arable land in warmer temperate and sub-tropical areas, but is also regarded as a minor environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in eastern Australia.

Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes) is a relatively common weed of creekbanks and riparian areas in south-eastern Queensland, though it rarely forms large and dense populations. It is also found on riverbanks in the Sydney region and in listed as an environmental weed in Gosford City, on the New South Wales central coast.