FOGFRUIT

FOGFRUIT

Phyla lanceolata
VERBENA FAMILY (Verbenaceae)

Identification

  • Flowering from June to August
  • Uncommon in moist floodplain sites at FF & NW
  • Unique flower head- nothing else looks like it
  • Flower cluster on long stem
  • Moist floodplain habitats
Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This native perennial with erect or, more often, sprawling stems is usually less than 1 foot tall. Aided by stems capable of rooting at their nodes and long spreading rhizomes, it often forms large, dense colonies (B). Lance shaped leaves with toothed margins are opposite on short stems. The solitary flower head, about 3/4 inch across, is found at the end of a long, thin stalk (A). The small, individual white, pink or lavender flowers have 4 irregular lobes and purple or yellow throats. Flowers form a circle around an elongating purple cone (C).

Grows near water, flowering from June through August. Uncommon in moist floodplain spots, often in spots that are intermittently flooded at Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods.

Also known as Northern Fog-Fruit, Lance-leaf Fog-fruit and Frogfruit. The previous scientific name was Lippia lanceolata.

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