Water Clover

Marsilea macropoda

Also called Clover Fern

Hills guide picknative · Hill Country

Water Clover is a groundcover native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 0.5–1 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles clay soil. Blooms not applicable in no bloom. Good for birds and small mammals.

Wet ground only. A wetland plant: it needs standing water or saturated soil — a pond edge, creek bank or rain garden, not a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Water Clover against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Low spreading plant with four-part clover-like leaves on slender stalks.

Why it works here

Unusual texture for a wet spot, a pond edge, or a bog container.

Watch out

Needs consistent moisture. Spreads by rhizome where it is happy.

The facts

7 sources

Type: Groundcover
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low
Height: 0.5–1 ft
Spread: 2 ft
Bloom: No Bloom · not applicable
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on clay, loam, moist, mud, poor drainage, sand
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Limited observation; treat as moderate.
Wildlife: Supports birds and small mammals

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:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaLimestone Cut Plain

48 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.