PHYSALIS ANGULATA L. (SOLANACEAE)- A NEW ANGIOSPERMIC RECORD FOR BANGLADESH

Physalis angulata L., an annual herb, belonging to the family Solanaceae, has been described and illustrated as a new record for Bangladesh. Physalis, a genus of the family Solanaceae consisting of about 100 species, mainly distributed in tropical and temperate America, but some of the species have a world-wide distribution. Physalis angulata L. and Physalis minima L. are widely spread as weeds in the Old World, probably as post-Columbian introductions (van Valkenburg and Bunyapraphatsara 2002). In Bangladesh, Physalis angulata has long been misidentified as P. minima L., a common weed of fallow lands, waste lands and crop fields. After a critical examination this species has been correctly identified as P. angulata L. This species was not reported previously from the area now under Bangladesh. Thus it is recorded here for the first time for the country. A detailed taxonomic description and illustrations of the species are prepared on the basis of living collections preserved at the Salar Khan Herbarium, D.U. (DUH) and Bangladesh Nationa