Largeleaf pennywort facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Largeleaf pennywort
Largeleaf pennywort
Scientific classification
Genus:	Hydrocotyle
Species:	bonariensis
Occurrence data from GBIF
Synonyms
Hydrocotyle bonariensis Comm. ex Lam. Hydrocotyle multiflora Ruiz & Pav. Hydrocotyle petiolaris DC. Hydrocotyle yucatanensis Millsp. Hydrocotyle caffra Meisn.

Hydrocotyle bonariensis, the largeleaf pennywort, once a member of the family Apiaceae, now in the family Araliaceae and of the genus Hydrocotyle, is a hairless and creeping perennial.

Hydrocotyle bonariensis

Description

Flowers

This plant has numerous white to creamy-yellow flowers, and the flower stalks can be 30 centimetres (12 in) in height.

Fruits and reproduction

The stems creep and root at the nodes; the plant spreads by rhizomes. Dollar Weed produces a dry dehiscent fruit that, at maturity, splits into two or more parts each with a single seed.

Habitat

This plant lives in sandy areas of somewhat extreme conditions: very dry lands that are flooded sometimes.

Community species

• Ipomoea pes-caprae
• Senecio crassiflorus
• Juncus acutus

Co-dominate species

• Imperata brasiliensis
• Bacopa monnieri

Distribution

This species colonizes sandy ground and disturbed foreshore sites, estuaries, coastline, sand dunes and ponds. H. bonariensis has also displayed a tendency to prefer, and be stronger at, higher elevations.

Native

Afrotropic:

West-Central Tropical Africa: Cameroon

West Tropical Africa: Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal

South Tropical Africa: Angola, Mozambique

Southern Africa: South Africa

Western Indian Ocean: Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion

Nearctic:

Southeastern United States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina

South-Central United States: Texas

Neotropic:

Central America: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama

Caribbean: Cuba, Puerto Rico

Northern South America: Venezuela

Brazil: Brazil

Western South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru

Southern South America: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Neighbors

Colombian communities

In a remote sensing project for rapid ecological evaluation, H. bonariensis was found in Colombia inhabiting several of the evaluated areas; the last two communities are considered exceptional for the diversity.

See also

In Spanish: Hydrocotyle bonariensis para niños