Phyla nodiflora

Perennial of the Verbenaceae family, Phyla nodiflora is a species with a very wide natural distribution, present in the warm and temperate warm regions of America, Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean basin. It colonizes open grounds, path edges, sandy areas, and disturbed sunny soils, often in hot and dry conditions.

It forms a dense, creeping carpet, barely exceeding 5 to 10 cm in height, through a network of stoloniferous stems that root at the nodes. The leaves are small, oval to spatulate, slightly toothed, medium green, arranged in opposite pairs along the stems.

The flowers are gathered in small globular heads carried on slender upright peduncles. Each head features a characteristic purple-violet central bud, surrounded by open white-pink flowers with a yellow eye, giving it a very distinct bicolored appearance. In its natural habitat, flowering extends from May to September depending on the region. In cultivation under temperate climates, it blooms from June to August.

It requires full sun and well-drained soil, tolerates heat and some drought, but fears prolonged cold winters. It is used as an extensive ground cover or lawn substitute in Mediterranean gardens and low-rainfall areas.