What is "physalis"

n. 1 Any plant of the genus ''Physalis''. 2 The fruit of such a plant, typically firm in texture with a mild, refreshing acidity.

Physalis (, sometimes , from physalis = bladder) is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family ( Solanaceae), which grow in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Most of the species, of which there may be 75-90, are indigenous to the New World. Cultivated species and weedy annuals have been introduced worldwide. A notable feature is the formation of a large papery husk derived from the calyx, which partly or fully encloses the fruit. The fruit is small and orange, similar in size, shape and structure to a small tomato.

At least 46 species are endemic to the country of Mexico.

Many Physalis species are called groundcherries. One name for Physalis peruviana is Inca berry; another is Cape gooseberry, not to be confused with the true gooseberries, which are of the genus Ribes in the family Grossulariaceae. Another name used to refer to the fruit is simply golden berries.

Physalis is a project to build software that allows users to run a service framework ( OSGi-like) on top of Microsoft .NET capable devices and computers. The project itself is a collaborative work of two persons, Karen Tamrazyan and Romuald Tisserand. In fact, this is the first attempt ever to create something like OSGi framework for .NET platform. It is also supposed to work with the .NET Compact Framework and thus support diverse embedded devices like Pocket PCs, Smart Phones and custom solutions based on the Windows CE embedded operating system.