With ongoing drought in Southwest Florida, especially around Cape Coral, some homeowners are seeing frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) appear in their lawns. Many mistake it for a weed, but it is a native Florida groundcover that tolerates dry conditions better than turf grasses.
Frogfruit spreads along the ground, rooting as it grows, and helps retain moisture in sandy soil. It often appears in St. Augustine lawns and produces small white flowers that serve as a larval host for butterflies such as the common buckeye, phaon crescent, and white peacock. It also provides nectar for other pollinators. The post encourages residents to visit Natives of Corkscrew to learn about low-water native groundcovers suited to Florida landscapes…