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Mollugo verticillata

green carpetweed

Molluginaceae

Tropical and warm-temperate Americas (now widespread)

Attracts Pollinators Drought Tolerant

Native to North America

SunFull Sun

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

Overview

Mollugo verticillata is a low, mat-forming summer annual in the family Molluginaceae, spreading flat across the ground in a circular patch 4-16 inches (10-40 cm) wide. The smooth, branching stems radiate from a central taproot and lie close to the soil. Narrow, spoon-shaped leaves 0.2-1.2 inches (5-30 mm) long are arranged in whorls of three to eight at each node, giving the plant a wheel-spoke look. Small white flowers about 0.1 inch (2-3 mm) across rise on thin stalks from the leaf whorls through summer and into fall. Each flower forms a tiny three-parted capsule with many small seeds. It germinates in late spring once the soil warms, grows quickly in hot weather, and dies with frost. It colonizes bare, disturbed ground such as gardens, fields, paths, sandy banks, and crop rows, tolerating poor and compacted soil. One limitation is its weediness: a single plant produces thousands of seeds and forms dense mats over open soil in a single season.

Native Range

Mollugo verticillata is considered native to the warmer parts of the Americas and has spread as a weed across temperate and tropical regions worldwide. In North America it is widespread in disturbed and cultivated ground across most of the United States and southern Canada.

Suggested Uses

Mollugo verticillata is not grown ornamentally and is managed as a warm-season weed in gardens, lawns, and crops. It has historically been gathered as an edible cooked green in some regions. In plantings it appears only as an uninvited colonizer of bare soil.

How to Identify

A flat, ground-hugging annual forms a circular mat with smooth stems radiating from a central root. Narrow, spoon-shaped leaves 0.2-1.2 inches (5-30 mm) long sit in whorls of three to eight at each node. Tiny white flowers about 0.1 inch (2-3 mm) wide on slender stalks and the whorled leaves separate it from spreading spurges, which have milky sap and paired leaves.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height1" - 2"

Width/Spread4" - 1'4"

Colors

Flower Colors

white

Foliage Colors

green

Fall Foliage Colors

no change

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~18 weeks

Summer Fall

Flowering runs through summer into fall, generally June to October, beginning a few weeks after germination. The small white flowers open over many weeks as the mat expands. Seed ripens continuously and drops near the parent plant.

Detailed Descriptions

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

sand loam clay

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Mollugo verticillata grows in full sun on warm, bare, well-drained soil and tolerates poor, sandy, compacted, and dry ground. It germinates only after the soil warms in late spring and grows fastest in summer heat. The plant needs no care and behaves entirely as a weed of open ground. Dense planting, mulch, or established cover shades the soil and suppresses its germination. It has few pests. Plants die with the first frost and do not return from the root.

Pruning

No pruning applies to this annual weed. Hand-pulling or hoeing before the flowers set seed reduces its spread, since the mats break easily from the central root. Plants die back completely at frost.

✓ Toxicity

Non-toxic

Eugene van der Pijll, no rights reserved (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons

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Wildflower

Mollugo verticillata

green carpetweed

Molluginaceae

Tropical and warm-temperate Americas (now widespread)

Attracts Pollinators Drought Tolerant

Native to North America

SunFull Sun

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

Overview

Native Range

Suggested Uses

How to Identify

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height1" - 2"

Width/Spread4" - 1'4"

Colors

Flower Colors

white

Foliage Colors

green

Fall Foliage Colors

no change

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~18 weeks

Summer Fall

Detailed Descriptions

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

sand loam clay

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Pruning

No pruning applies to this annual weed. Hand-pulling or hoeing before the flowers set seed reduces its spread, since the mats break easily from the central root. Plants die back completely at frost.

✓ Toxicity

Non-toxic