Hydrocotyle bonariensis Lam.

Seaside Pennywort; Coastal Pennywort; Dune Water Pennywort

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Seaside Pennywort is a native herbaceous perennial in the Ginseng family (Araliaceae). It is native to the southernmost counties of Alabama, but is also found further inland where it has probably been spread through the nursery trade. Seaside Pennywort occurs on beaches and dunes, on moist sandy roadsides and lawns, and as a weed in flowerbeds and beneath shrubbery. It is a perennial with long-creeping, matted rhizomes that root at the nodes. The rhizomes are white in color and can be up to 1 foot below the soil surface. Leaves are petiolate, peltate, usually without a sinus extending to the petiole, orbicular in outline, with crenate margins. The blade of the leaf is fleshy and often held in a vertical plane. There is usually a single glabrous leaf per node. Flower are produced in compound verticils or umbels. The peduncle of the inflorescence is longer than the petiole of the adjacent leaf. The yellow-green flowers are inconspicuous. Individual flowers have five petals. The fruit is dry, flattened, and ellipsoid, containing two seeds that split apart. Seaside Pennywort is sometimes sold as a pool or aquarium plant. It is considered an invasive species in many coastal areas around the world. In South America it has been used in herbal medicine for its anti-inflammatory, diuretic, stimulant, and antiseptic properties.—A. Diamond.

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Native FACW (NWPL)

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