Sphagneticola

Scientific name

Sphagneticola O. Hoffm.

Common names

creeping oxeye

Family

Asteraceae

Similar genera

Aciotis, Acmella, Bidens, Gymnocoronis, Hyptis, Shinnersia

Native distribution

New World tropics and subtropics

Species cultivated

Sphagneticola calendulacea (L.) Pruski

S. trilobata (L.C. Rich.) Pruski

Adventive distribution

introduced into the southeastern United States and the Old World

Weed status

can be weedy

Habit

creeping, mat-forming herb

Brief description

Stem creeping to ascending, round, short, strigosestrigose:
(adj) with stiff, straight, sharp, appressed hairs
or hirsute to subglabrous, rooting at nodes. Leaves oppositeopposite:
(adj) (of leaves) two leaves per node; in pairs on opposite sides of an axis
; sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
or petiolatepetiolate:
(adj) relating to or in the form of a petiole; bearing petioles
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
lanceolate to obovateobovate:
(adj) ovate, with the narrow end at the base
, often with 3 triangular lobes, fleshy, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
; base cuneatecuneate:
(adj) wedge-shaped; triangular, with narrow end at the base
; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
irregularly toothed; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
pinnatepinnate:
(adj) in the form of a feather; of, e.g., leaflets, lobes, or veins: arranged in two rows along an axis
. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
axillaryaxillary:
(adj) in, of, or produced from an axil
, of radiate flower heads; pedunculatepedunculate:
(adj) borne on or possessing a peduncle
; involucreinvolucre:
(n) a whorl of bracts subtending a flower, flower cluster, or inflorescence
campanulate-hemispherical; phyllariesphyllaries:
(n) an individual bract of the involucre in Asteracea flower heads
lanceolatelanceolate:
(adj) lance-shaped; widest point below the middle, tapering to the apex
; ray florets fertilefertile:
(adj) producing viable seed, spores, or pollen; capable of reproducing
, often 8-13 per headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
, 2-4 denticulatedenticulate:
(adj) minutely dentate; projecting in the form of a small tooth; slightly toothed
; disk florets fertilefertile:
(adj) producing viable seed, spores, or pollen; capable of reproducing
, pappuspappus:
(n) modified calyx in the Asteraceae, composed of hairs, bristles, awns, or scales
a crowncrown:
(n) the basal portions of a herbaceous plant, usually where root or rhizome meets aerial stem
of short fimbriatefimbriate:
(adj) fringed with long hairs or processes
scales; yellow-orange. Achenes clavateclavate:
(adj) club-shaped; gradually widening toward the apex
, brown; tuberculatetuberculate:
(adj) bearing tubercles
; pappuspappus:
(n) modified calyx in the Asteraceae, composed of hairs, bristles, awns, or scales
of fused scales, crown-shaped.

Natural habitat

very wide ecological tolerance range; equally suited to dry and moist sites, and often found in littorallittoral:
(adj) of or along the shore
areas

Additional comments

Sphagneticola contains five species, of which none are truly aquatic. Sphagneticola trilobata is capable of surviving and thriving in wet habitats, and although it isn’t a true aquatic plant, it is marketed as an ornamental ground cover, and as a pond, bog, and ripariumriparium:
(n) a type of aquarium that simulates wet habitats found along the edges of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams
plant.