Phyla nodiflora

Common lippia

Family: Verbenaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS CBR

Common lippia is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Great Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, southern California, Channel Islands, Peninsular Ranges, southeastern Mojave Desert, and Sonoran Desert in wet places and pond margins at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from May to November, this plant produces white to reddish flowers in compact heads 6 to 10 millimeters long. Growing with spreading branches less than 15 centimeters long and internodes typically shorter than 4 centimeters, it forms low-spreading clumps. Its leaves are 5 to 30 millimeters long, with margins that are nearly entire or lightly serrated toward the leaf tip. The plant spreads easily in moist habitats, creating dense ground-covering patches.

Habitat: Wet places, pond margins

Bloom period: May-Nov

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: NW (exc KR, NCoRH), GV, CCo, SnFrB, SCo, ChI (Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina islands), PR, se DMoj, DSon

California counties: Orange, Tulare, Imperial, Sutter, Ventura, Napa, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Joaquin, Lake, Merced, Kern, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Kings, San Bernardino, Contra Costa, Tehama, Santa Clara, Yolo, Colusa, Calaveras, Solano, Alameda, Mendocino, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Humboldt, San Mateo, San Luis Obispo, Butte, Santa Cruz, Monterey

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