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Phyla nodiflora

Common name:	Frogfruit	Family:	Verbenaceae
Author:	(L.)Greene.	Botanical references:	154, 200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China to Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria. S. America.
Habitat:	Near the coast in Australia[154]. A ommon weed in the warmer areas of China, where it grows along stream banks and in grassy places at elevations of 300 - 2300 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	flora = flowered; nodiflora = flowers from nodes;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Verbena family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.2m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 10. It is in flower from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Tea.

Leaves[144, 177]. No more details are given.
The fresh leaves are used as a tea substitute. A grassy flavour, it is nothing special[144].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anodyne; Antibacterial; Deobstruent; Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Parasiticide; Refrigerant.

The plant is anodyne, antibacterial, deobstruent, diuretic, emmenagogue, parasiticide and refrigerant[218]. It is used in the treatment of hookworm[218]. The juice of the plant is cooling and is used to relieve fevers, coughs and colds[272]. The aroma of the inhaled plant is breathed in to treat coughs and colds[272].
The juice of the root is used in the treatment of gastric troubles[272].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

A good ground cover for dry sunny banks[200], this plant has been used as a grass substitute for lawns in tropical areas, though it would probably not tolerate heavy traffic[157, 200].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position[200]. Prefers a moderately fertile soil, but succeeds in soils of low fertility[200]. Prefers ample moisture according to one report[157], whilst another says that, once established, it is drought tolerant[200]. When grown in shade the plant makes a lot of vegetative growth but does not flower well[157].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, though it can be grown outdoors as a half-hardy annual in this country[1]. Plants tolerate temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[157] though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in the middle of spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring or early summer.
If trying to grow this plant as a perennial do not plant them out the first spring but grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

References for the family Verbenaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.