Limnobium spongia

American frogbit, American Frogbit

Family: Hydrocharitaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

American frogbit is a naturalized aquatic perennial found in northern California coastal and San Francisco Bay bioregions in streams, ponds, and lagoons at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces white flowers with three petals and three sepals. Growing as a floating aquatic plant with leaves 1 to 10 centimeters long and 0.9 to 7.8 centimeters wide, it spreads through water habitats with petioles up to 15 centimeters long. Its leaves are distinctively ovate to nearly round, with bases that are kidney-shaped or heart-shaped. The plant produces small fruits approximately 4 to 12 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Streams, ponds, lagoons

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: NCo, SnFrB

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.