scottysmith's Identifications

Several plants found by a trail in Penitente Canyon southwest of La Garita, Saguache Co, CO, USA, in association with Amaranthus sp, Atriplex canescens, and Dysphania graveolens. I did not determine whether this Physalis is annual or perennial. The peduncle is a little more and 1 mm wide (see photo 7). Stem hairs are glandular with some forked (see arrows in photo 8) and a few multicellular (see arrows in photo 9). I went back to the location the next summer (2023) and found no new plants, suggesting this species is annual. For another Physalis within one mile of this patch, observed three months before this one, identified as P. neomexicana, see iNaturalist observation #132629186. For more photos and commentary, see https://floraupperriogrande.com/flora-search/single-record/?pdb=1886. Thanks to Scotty Smith for providing this determination.