Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Tiny

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

Americas

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Runners

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

This creeping groundcover thrives in tropical wetlands across the Americas. Its tiny flower clusters contain exactly four distinct petals arranged in a square.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Lamiales

Family

Verbenaceae

Genus

Phyla

Species

Phyla nodiflora