Horseherb

Calyptocarpus vialis

Hills guide picksold locally

Horseherb is a groundcover from the Village of the Hills planting guide that grows 0.7–0.8 ft tall and 1 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and very low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms yellow in Mar–Nov. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Low spreading groundcover with small green leaves and tiny yellow flowers.

Why it works here

Takes shade, foot traffic and drought, and it is the practical answer to bare ground under live oaks.

Watch out

Goes brown and disappears after a hard freeze. Considered a weed by people who want turf.

The facts

9 sources

Type: Groundcover
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Very low
Height: 0.7–0.8 ft
Spread: 1 ft
Bloom: Mar–Nov · yellow
Foliage: Semi-evergreen
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on clay, dry, loam, moist, sand, well drained
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

7,836 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:

2.5–4.5 inch pots

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

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.