Carolina Ponyfoot

Many people see this as a weed, but this low growing groundcover is a Texas native. Great for natural landscapes and habitat reconstruction. Ponyfoot can be grown in containers and hanging baskets. This version is adapted better to eastern Texas than the silver Dichondra commonly found in garden centers. It is drought and frost tolerant and blooms March - September. It serves as larvae host to the Pink-spotted Hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata). Consider allowing this to grow in your landscape.

Other names: Grass Ponyfoot

Characteristics: Native, flowering, perennial, deciduous herb

Appearance: It features small, kidney-shaped (reniform) leaves that grow on trailing stems.

Habit: This plant spreads horizontally, forming a low mat and rooting at the leaf nodes.

Requirements: Sun to part shade, low to medium water

Habitat: It is commonly found in moist, disturbed sites, lawns, and pinelands, particularly in the southeastern United States.

Seasonal interest: Nectar, pollen

Wildlife benefit: Bees, butterflies, moths, nectar insects

Edibility: The young leaves are edible and often used in salads or cooked greens, sometimes to dilute the bitterness of other wild greens.

https://www.npsot.org/.../native.../dichondra-carolinensis/

Photo source:https://www.flickr.com/.../385.../8448508422/in/photostream/ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0