Phyla nodiflora

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves - tea, Leaves

The fresh leaves are used as a tea substitute. The flavour is grassy and unremarkable.

Where to Find It

It grows in temperate places but will grow in the subtropics and in semi-arid places. It needs well drained soil. It needs to grow in full sun. It can stand heavy frosts. It also grows in regularly flooded areas and near ditches and ponds. In Zimbabwe it grows up to 1,300 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 9-10. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Africa, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America*, Chile, China, Cuba*, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Greece, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica*, Laos, Malawi, Maldives, Mediterranean, Mexico*, Middle East, Mozambique, North America, Pacific, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America*, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, USA, West Africa, West Indies*, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

How to Identify

A plant which forms a tight mat. It spreads by runners or stolons. It grows 3-15 cm high. These can be woody near the base. They produce many roots. It can spread 2-5 m wide. The leaves are small and opposite. The are oblong or sword shaped and narrow to a leaf stalk at the base. There can be some teeth near the end of the blade. The leaves can be smooth or covered with hairs. The flowers heads are round or oval and 1.25 cm across. They are on long flowering stalks. The flowers are pink and like clover flowers.

How to Grow

It can be grown by small cuttings.

Propagation: No specific information is available for this species. It is suggested to sow seed in a greenhouse in mid-spring. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and plant out in late spring or early summer. If growing as a perennial, do not plant out in the first spring; instead grow on in the greenhouse through the first winter and plant into permanent positions in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Division can be carried out in spring.

Medicinal Uses

The plant is anodyne, antibacterial, deobstruent, diuretic, emmenagogue, parasiticide, and refrigerant, and is used in the treatment of hookworm. The juice of the plant is cooling and used to relieve fevers, coughs, and colds. The aroma of the plant, when inhaled directly, is also used to treat coughs and colds. The juice of the root is used to treat gastric troubles.

Other Uses

This plant makes a good ground cover for dry, sunny banks and has been used as a grass substitute for lawns in tropical areas, though it would probably not tolerate heavy traffic. It is suitable as a perennial groundcover for zone 2 firebreaks — the second zone out from a building in the US government's wildfire firebreak system — where low-growing plants provide little fuel.

Phyla nodiflora, commonly known as lippia, kurapia, turkey tangle frogfruit, capeweed, and frogfruit, is a species of flowering plant in the family Verbenaceae. It can be found in the tropics around the globe. It is often grown as an ornamental plant for ground cover, and is often present in yards or disturbed areas.

Other Information

It is sold in local markets in China.

Notes

There are 15 Phyla species. It has medicinal properties.

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