Lemon hyssop, Lemon bacopa, Blue waterhyssop
Bacopa caroliniana
Plantaginaceae


Landscape Uses:

Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. It can also be used as a groundcover in water gardens and along pond and lake edges.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

A relatively common element of a wide variety of freshwater wetlands.
Availability:
Grown by a few native plant nurseries.
Description:
Small creeping wildflower. Leaves aromatic when crushed.
Height:
Typically 3-6 inches in height or less. Spreading and forming large patches.
Growth Rate:
Moderate.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland.
Habitats:
Freshwater marshes, swamps and pond margins.
Soils:
Wet to moist, seasonally inundated organic, sandy or calcareous soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance:
Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance:
Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements:
Full sun.
Flower Color:
Blue.
Flower Characteristics:
Showy. Fragrant.
Flowering Season:
All year.
Fruit:
Inconspicuous capsule.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from cuttings and division.
Comments:
The leaves are lemon-scented. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.


Roger L. Hammer
Susan Trammell
Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton