Frogfruit

Phyla nodiflora

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Frogfruit is a groundcover native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 0.5 ft tall and 1.5–2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low to medium water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Flowers are white. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Low mat-forming groundcover with small white-and-purple flower heads through the warm season.

Why it works here

A genuine lawn alternative that takes light foot traffic, and a larval host for several butterflies.

Watch out

Semi-evergreen at best — browns in hard winters. Spreads vigorously into beds.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Groundcover
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low to medium
Height: 0.5 ft
Spread: 1.5–2 ft
Bloom: White
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, limestone, loam, moist, poor drainage, saline, sand
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Grazed lightly
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

4,272 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5 inch pot

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.