# turkey tangle frogfruit

*Phyla nodiflora*

This plant is a critical nursery for the Phaon Crescent butterfly, whose caterpillars feed exclusively on its leaves.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/663cb975-21ab-4931-be34-ca7efd784caa
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/59040
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyla nodiflora
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/276846471/medium.jpeg (Brian Finzel, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.