This species was discovered by the indigenous Moriori people of the Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand. They named this plant Korapa o Ra or ‘Caged Sun’. It’s a member of the Groundcherry family.
The fruit is accessible to small birds and insects only and the large seeds stay trapped inside the crown. After maturing and shrinking, the seeds eventually fall through the web of branches and sprout close to the trunk. This makes Physalis Pecus trees only appear in groups and migrate very slowly.