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 development stage. Other potential threats are V-moth ("Macaria wauaria") and gooseberry sawfly ("Nematus ribesii"). "Nematus ribesii" grubs will bury themselves in the ground to pupate; on hatching into adult form, they lay their eggs, which soon hatch into larvae, on the underside of gooseberry leaves. Insecticides used in the 19th-century against these included tar water, weak solutions of carbolic acid, and powdered hellebore, which worked against magpie moths and V-moths as well as gooseberry sawflies. (Foxglove and tobacco infusions were also sometimes used.) A 2008 study concluded that a solution of magnesium sulfate applied to a bush's leaves has a