Flora of New Zealand Series

fog fruit

Perennial herb; stems angled, forming large dense mats to several m diam., rooting at nodes. Lvs shortly petiolate. Lamina 1-2-(c. 3) × 0.3-0.5-(1.5) cm, oblong or spathulate, dentate in upper 1/2, occasionally lobed, with appressed hairs on both surfaces; base attenuate; apex obtuse or subacute. Peduncles 2-6 cm long. Heads subglobose or ovoid, 8-12 mm diam. Bracts broad-ovate, acuminate, densely hairy outside; margins ciliate, purplish. Calyx c. 1.5 mm long; obtuse; margins ciliate, purplish. Corolla tube > calyx; limb 3-4 mm diam., mauve with orange throat, becoming pale with age; lobes subequal, rounded or sinuate. Nutlets 1-2 mm long.

N.: Auckland City, Portland Id (off the Mahia Peninsula, Hawke's Bay).

Tropical America 1978

Cultivation escape.

FL Jan-Dec.

An infl. of P. nodiflora is illustrated in Fig. 121. Since it is now cultivated fairly commonly for ground-cover in N.Z., wild plants can be expected elsewhere. It often becomes naturalised in warmer countries. It is often known as Lippia nodiflora in N.Z.