prairie wildflower

Turkey tangle frogfruit

Phyla nodiflora

Also known as Texas Frogfruit, Turkey Tangle Fogfruit, Frogfruit

Native to much of the USA

Southern half of the US to the tropics.

Light Full sun to part shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry to moist Moisture preference
Zones n/a Cold to heat range
Bloom May–Nov Flowering time
Height up to 6 in to 15 cm
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun to part shade and dry to moist soil. At up to 6 in, it tucks into meadows and sunny borders. It spreads readily, so give it room or a contained spot.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Pollinators & wildlife

Butterflies Gulf Fritillary

also Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Fiery Skipper +69 more
Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Variegated Fritillary, Queen, Common Checkered-Skipper and Allies, Checkered White, Horace's Duskywing, Common Ringlet, Gray Buckeye, Dun Skipper, Dainty Sulphur, Woodland Skipper, Phaon Crescent, Least Skipper, Ceraunus Blue, Bordered Patch, Acmon Blue, Reakirt's Blue, Umber Skipper, Funereal Duskywing, Tawny-edged Skipper, Eufala Skipper, Great Southern White, Texan Crescent, Purplish Copper, Whirlabout, Common Sootywing, Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Common Mestra, Barred Yellow, Southern Skipperling, Cassius Blue, Zarucco Duskywing, Florida Mangrove Skipper, Little Metalmark, Great Copper, Confused Cloudywing, Obscure Skipper, Pink-spot Sulphur, Small Heath, Neamathla Skipper, Little Yellow, Nathalis iole iole, Desert Checkered-Skipper, Pyrisitia nise nise, False Ilex Hairstreak, Wallengrenia otho, Baracoa Skipper, Florida Duskywing, Eastern Pygmy-Blue, Lesser Grass Blue, West Indian Mangrove Buckeye, White-patched Skipper, Fulvous Hairstreak, Common Zebra Blue, Dark Grass Blue, White Checkered-Skipper, Panoquina panoquin, Hylephila phyleus phyleus, Atrytone delaware, Panoquina ocola, Wallengrenia egeremet, White Peacock, Common Spurwing, Leptotes trigemmatus, Atalopedes campestris, Pyrgus oileus, Eresia aveyrona mylitta, Ramon Blue
Bees American Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Carpenter-mimic Leafcutter Bee +18 more
Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Poey's Furrow Bee, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, Megachile exilis, Megachile albitarsis, Florida Small Carpenter, Megachile pusilla, Ceratina cockerelli, Graenicher's Masked Bee, Baker's Nomia, Agapostemon poeyi, Melissodes communis communis, Coelioxys slossoni slossoni, Lunate Longhorn-cuckoo Bee, Red Dwarf Honey Bee, Florida Longhorn-Cuckoo, Pubescent Carpenter Bee, Coelioxys mexicana
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher

also Eastern Calligrapher, Oblique Streaktail, Northern Plushback +17 more
Mexican Cactus Fly, Chrysanthrax cypris, Band-winged Bee Fly, Thin-lined Calligrapher, Systoechus solitus, Toxophora amphitea, Black-sided Calligrapher, Florida Bromeliad Fly, Neodiplocampta miranda, Long-spurred Swamp Fly, Palpada pusilla, Palpada agrorum, Pseudodoros clavatus, White-faced Plushback, Poecilanthrax lucifer, Florida Calligrapher, Hyperalonia chilensis
Also visited by
- Moths:
  
  Genista Broom Moth, Dusky Herpetogramma Moth +9 more
  Orange-spotted Flower Moth, Spotted Spragueia, Sooty Snout, Assembly Moth, Wine-tinted Oenobotys Moth, Mottled Pyrausta Moth, Ornate Bella Moth, Coffee-loving and Southern Purple Mint Moths, Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moth
- Wasps:
  
  Four-toothed Mason Wasp, Red-marked Pachodynerus Wasp +4 more
  Zeta argillaceum, Smith's Potter Wasp, Horse Paper Wasp, Slosson's Mason Wasp
- Beetles: Alligatorweed Flea Beetle

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Much of the USAUnited States (22): AL, AR, AZ, CA, FL, GA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NM, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, VA. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Southern half of the US to the tropics.The same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sun to part shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: Dry to moistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Soil: Sand, loam, clay, caliche, limestone. Poor drainage and saline soils okayThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 6.0–8.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: Low to mediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 6 in (to 15 cm)Typical mature height.
Spread: ~3 ft (1 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ProstrateIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 6+ in (15+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: May–NovWhen it flowers.
Flower color: White, Red, PinkThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: SchizocarpThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Seed, sprigsHow to start new plants.
Seed spread rate: RapidHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: HighHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: RapidWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.