Description

• Phyla nodiflora, commonly known as frogfruit, turkey tangle fogfruit, or creeping fogfruit, is a low-growing, perennial herb in the verbena family (Verbenaceae).

• It has creeping, prostrate stems that root at the nodes, forming dense mats across the ground.

• The leaves are opposite, simple, and obovate to spatula-shaped, with toothed margins, especially towards the tips.

• Tiny white to pale pinkish flowers are densely packed into rounded or short cylindrical flower heads borne on slender stalks arising from the leaf axils.

• The plant can flower over an extended period in warm climates and provides nectar for butterflies and other pollinating insects.

Range

• Native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, with a broad distribution extending into other warm regions worldwide.

• It is native to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.

Habitat

• Grows in moist to seasonally wet areas, including stream margins, pond edges, lawns, roadsides, paths, and disturbed ground.

• Commonly occurs in sunny, open habitats with compacted or periodically waterlogged soils.

• Tolerates trampling and occasional mowing, allowing it to form ground-covering mats in frequently disturbed areas.