Physalis peruviana an exotic exported fruit, and is favored in breeding and cultivation programs in many countries. "P. peruviana" is closely related to the tomatillo and to the Chinese lantern, also members of the genus "Physalis". As a member of the plant family Solanaceae, it is more distantly related to a large number of edible plants, including tomato, eggplant, potato, and other members of the nightshades. Despite its name, it is not botanically related to gooseberries such as the "Ribes" gooseberry, Indian gooseberry, or Chinese gooseberry. "P. peruviana" is an annual in temperate locations, but perennial in the tropics. As a perennial,
Gooseberry introduction. Although usually placed as a subgenus within "Ribes", a few taxonomists treat "Grossularia" as a separate genus, although hybrids between gooseberry and blackcurrant (e.g., the jostaberry) are possible. The subgenus "Grossularia" differs somewhat from currants, chiefly in their spiny stems, and in that their flowers grow one to three together on short stems, not in racemes. It is one of several similar species in the subgenus "Grossularia"; for the other related species (e.g., North American gooseberry "Ribes hirtellum"), see the genus page "Ribes". The "goose" in "gooseberry" has usually been seen as a corruption of either the Dutch word