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Phyla nodiflora (L.)Greene
Turkey Tangle Fogfruit
Capeweed
Carpetweed
Synonym(s): Lippia nodiflora
Florida native
A common wildflower of beaches, hammocks and disturbed sites throughout most of Florida. The range extends through the southeastern coastal plain as far north as Pennsylvania and New Jersey and westward across the southern tier of states. Also occurrs in Oklahoma, Kansas, Oregon, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Turkey tangle fogfruit has tiny purplish-white flowers in rounded clusters that become cylindrical with age on long stalks. The corolla is two-lipped, the upper lip with two lobes, the lower three-lobed. Leaves of Phyla nodiflora are opposite, stalked, obovate or spatulate, widest above the middle, toothed near the tip, with a tapered base.
This low-growing wildflower has many common names, going by both fogfruit and frog-fruit, plus capeweed and carpetweed - alluding to the tendency to grow in large patches.
Often visited by various butterflies, Phyla nodiflora is a host plant for
phaon crescent(Phyciodes phaon), the common buckeye(Junonia coenia) and white peacock(Anartia jatrophae) butterflies.
Phyla nodiflora is a member of the Verbenaceae - Verbena family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 27, 2025
