The Cape Gooseberry and its Many Fijian and Pacific Names

Physalis peruviana/angulata (Solanaceae), known in English as the wild cape gooseberry, was probably introduced into the Pacific from South America in the early 19th century – though it could have been much earlier. In this article I trace its introduction and spread throughout the Pacific and especially Fiji, the uses to which it has been put, and the many names it has acquired. Two unexpected observations from Fiji are that (1) it now has more different names than any other plant taxon, native or introduced, including examples of borrowing, compounding and semantic extension; and (2) most of the names coined in Fiji refer to a feature of the plant that is never found in standard botanical descriptions