Phyla nodiflora

common frogfruit, common frog-fruit, cape-weed, turkey-tangle, mat-grass, hierba de la vargen maria, frog fruit, frogfruit, sawtooth fogfruit, turkey tangle, turkey tangle fogfruit, turkey tangle frogfruit, texas frogfruit
Family

Verbenaceae

Leaf Arrangement

opposite

Leaf Attachment

petiolate

Leaf Margin

serrate

Leaf Type

simple

Leaf Shape

elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate, spatulate, cuneiform

Growth Form

forb

Flower Color

blue, pink, purple, white

Flower Month

January - October

Height (meters)

0.1 - 0.9

Milky Sap

No

Armed/Unarmed

Unarmed

Origin

native

Lifespan

perennial

Growing Season

Warm season

Leaf Retention

Semi-evergreen


Wetland Class

FAC

Wetland Coefficient of Conservatism

4

Prairie Coefficient of Conservatism

1

Field Characters

Identification tip: Part of a complex that produces intermediate hybrids. Phyla nodiflora has leaf blades mostly widest toward the apex and toothed only near the apex. Phyla lanceolata has leaf blades that are mostly widest at or below the middle and toothed from below the middle to the apex (also fits P. strigulosa which only occurs in north Louisiana). Phyla intermedia is thought to be a hybrid of P. lanceolata and P. nodiflora. Venation not conspicuous. Peduncle much longer than the leaves (11.5 cm).

Cultural Information

Cuttings, taken in late spring through the summer, root readily at the nodes.

Animal Use

An acceptable forage for cattle. Seeds eaten by waterfowl (Holmes 1990). Also attracts numerous insect pollinators. Serves as the larval host for the Phaon Cresentspot, Buckeye, and White Peacock butterflies.

Natural History

The Acadian French name for frog-fruit is "caille eau," stemming from the superstition that it can curdle water (Holmes 1990). Frog-fruit grows on the edges of ponds and lakes and in swamps, ditches, and low areas throughout Louisiana and most of Texas.

Habitat

Ditches, roadways, beaches, and fields.