Apple-of-Peru
Latin name
Nicandra physalodes
Family
Solanaceae
Other names
Shoo-fly
Flowering season
June to November
A flowering Apple-of Peru has suddenly appeared in a
flower bed in my garden in November 2025.
English distribution
It is thinly scattered throughout most of the country and
decreases towards the North.
See the BSBI distribution map for Apple-of-Peru
Habitat
It is a neophyte which was introduced from South America
in the late 1750s and has been known in the wild since the
1860s.
It grows on waste ground, rubbish tips, gardens and
allotments.
In the South it can overwinter and has become naturalised.
In gardens it may be a bird-sown or from commercial, bird
seed.
It is classed as an invasive alien in the USA.
Description
Apple-of-Peru is a striking, large, annual herb, growing
up to 1m.
The flowers are deep, violet-blue, trumpet-shaped and
up to 4cm.
The petals have white bases with splashes of blue.
There are 5 white, striped anthers and there is a single,
club-shaped stigma.
The calyx is bell-shaped, with green and purple sepals.
Fruits are brown berries wrapped in a papery case.
Leaves are bright green and toothed.
The plant is poisonous and is thought to have insecticidal
properties, hemce the name, Shoo Fly. The folk song "Shoo fly
don't bother me" originated in the USA in the 1860s
(See Wikepedia) and a version by Burl Ives was often played
by Uncle Mac on childrens' radio on the BBC in the 1950s qnd '60s.
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Apple-of-Peru, bird-sown, Dorset
Newly open flower
5 anthers and a bilobed stigma
Side view of calyx (sepals)
Leaves
Flower buds