Turkey Tangle Frog...   

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit's description

Prostrate herbs, rooting at nodes. Leaves simple, 1-3×0.8-1.5 cm, obovate-spathulate or oblanceolate, sometimes elliptic or cuneiform, apex rounded or obtuse, base cuneate, margin sharply serrate above the middle, fl eshy; petiole to 8 mm long, decurrent. Flowers 5-merous, sessile, aggregated in axillary, globose-capitate or elongate, cylindric, stalked spikes, 1-2.5 cm long when mature and 6-9 mm across; peduncle 1.5-6 cm
long; bracts small, closely imbricate. Calyx cupular, deeply 2-cleft; lobes lanceolate. Corolla pink to white, 2-2.5 mm long, salver-form, 2-lipped, upper lip 2-lobed, emarginate, lower 3-lobed. Stamens 4, included. Drupe ca. 2 mm long, enclosing two, 1-celled pyrenes.

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit's facts

Did you know?

• once this plant established, it is drought tolerant.

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit's Behavior & Ecology

Frog fruit plant succeeds in a wide range of habitats from the subtropics to the tropics. Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position. Prefers a moderately fertile soil, but succeeds in soils of low fertility. When grown in shade the plant makes a lot of vegetative growth but does not flower well. The plant spreads rapidly by means of running stems and can carpet large areas. The plant can flower and produce fruit all year round.

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit's Relationship with Humans

Frogfruit can be used as an excellent ground cover and is evergreen in warm years. It is also evergreen in areas protected from frost. It spreads vigorously. Frogfruit generally is a good nectar plant for butterflies. It is an attractive plant rambling over boulders or the edges of hanging baskets. It also can tolerate drought and flooding. This species is a member of the verbena family (family Verbenaceae), which includes about 75 genera and 3,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees, mostly of tropical and warm temperate regions. Among them, teak is a highly prized furniture wood, and Vervain, Lantana, Lippia or Frog Fruit, and Chase Tree or Vitex are grown as ornamentals.

Frog fruit plant is known to be used in folk medecines. plant is anodyne, antibacterial, astringent, carminative, deobstruent, diuretic, emmenagogue, emollient, febrifuge, parasiticide and refrigerant. It is said to be useful in the treatment of blenorrhoea, lithiasis, ischuria, constipation and pain in the knees. It is used in the treatment of hookworm. An infusion is drunk as a post-partum tonic. The juice of the plant is cooling and is used to relieve minor gastric troubles, fevers, coughs and colds. The aroma of the inhaled plant is breathed in to treat coughs and colds. A poultice of the fresh plant is applied to ripen boils. A paste or poultice is also applied to swollen cervical glands, to erysipelas, burns, and to chronic indolent ulcers. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of gastric troubles.

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit habitat

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit threats

Turkey Tangle Frogfruit's status