turkey tangle frogfruit
Phyla nodiflora
This plant is a critical nursery for the Phaon Crescent butterfly, whose caterpillars feed exclusively on its leaves.
- Scientific name
- Phyla nodiflora
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Verbenaceae › Phyla
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Moist sandy soils, riverbanks, coastal dunes, ditches, and disturbed wet areas.
- Diet
- Autotroph (Photosynthesis)
- Range
- Southern United States, Central America, South America, South Asia, Australia
- Size
- 3-6 inches tall; mats can spread 3-6 feet wide
- Lifespan
- Perennial (3-10+ years via clonal spreading)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat conversion, heavy herbicide use in monoculture lawns, and competition from aggressive invasive grasses.
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless and safe to touch. It is a resilient groundcover that can withstand light foot traffic. If encountered, feel free to observe the many pollinators it attracts from a short distance.
Phyla nodiflora , the frog fruit , sawtooth fogfruit , or turkey tangle , is an ornamental plant in the Verbenaceae family, and is native to South America and the United States. It can be found in tropical areas around the globe, a naturalized species in many places. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.
Photo: Brian Finzel, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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