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Frogfruit

Phyla nodiflora

Other common name(s):

Texas Frogfruit, Turkey Tangle Fogfruit

Family:

Verbenaceae (Verbena Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Central Great Plains, Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, High Plains, Southern Texas Plains, Southwestern Tablelands, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains, Red Prairie
Chihuahuan Basins and Playas, Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Chihuahuan Montane Woodlands, Low Mountains and Bajadas, Stockton Plateau
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Llano Uplift, Semiarid Edwards Plateau
Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Arid Llano Estacado
Northern Nueces Alluvial Plains, Rio Grande Floodplain and Terraces, Semiarid Edwards Bajada, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Caprock Canyons Badlands Breaks, Flat Tablelands and Valleys
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Groundcover

Height

0.25
to
0.5
ft.

Spread

2
to
2
ft.

Leaf Retention

Semi Evergreen

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Loam, Clay, Limestone, Poor Drainage

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Low, Medium

Native Habitat

Grassland, Woodland, Wetland or Riparian

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

White

Bloom Season

Spring, Summer, Fall

Seasonal Interest

Nectar, Larval Host

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies

Maintenance

Excellent groundcover, spreads rapidly by runners. Can tolerate poor drainage and drought. Can be mowed but better left alone; do not mow while blooming spring to fall. Propagation: Root division.

Comments

Blooms March-November. Native Habitat: anywhere from ditches and roadways to beaches and fields. Can be evergreen in warm years or in protected areas. Small showy white flowers that bloom most of the year.. Colonizes by stolons. A good nectar plant for butterflies. Larval Host: Phaon Crescentspot, Buckeye, and White Peacock butterflies.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym(s): Lippia incisa, Lippia nodiflora, Lippia nodiflora var. reptans, Lippia reptans, Phyla incisa, Phyla nodiflora var. incisa, Phyla nodiflora var. longifolia, Phyla nodiflora var. nodiflora, Phyla nodiflora var. repens, Phyla nodiflora var. reptans, Phyla nodiflora var. rosea

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 104. 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PHNO2. 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Phyla+nodiflora&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 5) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=23861&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 6) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=32197#null, 7) Native and Adapted Landscape Plants, City of Austin and Texas A&M, 2014.