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Physalis peruviana L. is a species of commercial interest belonging to the Solanaceae family, cultivated preferentially in shaded environment, which still has cultivation restricted to small areas in Brazil and therefore requires further studies. Plants are directly affected by environmental factors such as drought, temperature, radiation, among others. These factors affect not only the vegetative organs, but also reproductive structures, which may cause damage to agronomically explored plants. With the need for shading presented by the crop, the present work aimed to characterize the pollen grain and to verify the influence of shade nets used in shading on the morphology of pollen grains of this species. The work was developed at the Lavras Federal University, where three replications of two plants were cultivated under full sun and under shadenets white, blue, red and black. Flower anthesis pollen was collected, processed and photographed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Polar diameter, equatorial diameter and pollen area were measured in ten pollen grains. The results showed that P. peruviana pollen grains are isopolar, radial, prolato-spheroidal in shape and medium in size. There was also an increase in pollen grain area when cultivated in shading with white shade net and in full sun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]