Common Name

Lippia, Carpet Weed, Frog Fruit

Family

Verbenaceae

Notes

Introduced prostrate perennial forb. Leaves opposite each other, leaf bases sometimes continuing down the stems, 0.7-7.2cm long, 3-10mm wide, flat, hairy or bristly, usually toothed. Individual flowers small (less than 3mm across), white, to mauve or purplish, tubular, with 4-5 uneven lobes. Inflorescence many flowered, initially elliptical, lengthening to cylindrical, solitary at the bases of the leaves. One inflorescence per pair of leaves.

Differs from Phyla canescens in that the leaves are green, the leaf margins with sharp forward-directed teeth. The calyx lobes of the flowers are longer than the calyx tube, and the flowers are arranged in cylindrical clusters 5-30 mm (usually 10-25mm) long.

The description above is mostly based on Munir, A.A., (1993) A taxonomic revision of the genus Phyla Lour. (Verbenaceae) in Australia. Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 15(2): 121-125, Fig. 3, Map 3

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 568. Note that this description pre-dates the separation of Phyla canescens from Phyla nodiflora.

PlanNETdescription: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Phyla~nodiflora

FloraBase photos: http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/photo/6734