Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Glechoma hederacea
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Ground Ivy at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Glechoma hederacea
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISSPELLED) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 164-10-001:
Glecoma hederacea FAMILY Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISSPELLED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Glecoma hederacea
COMMON NAME:
Ground Ivy, Gill-over-the-ground, Creeping Charlie
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_glhe2_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_313
)
JK Marlow jkm120211_040
February Spartanburg County SC
Leaves are evergreen. Trailing stems root at the nodes to form mats, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_glechoma_hederacea_2
February
Leaves reniform to reniform-cordate, coarsely crenate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Gill Newberry gn03_g_hederaea_flower
March
Upper lip small, notched at apex; the lower larger, 3-lobed, speckled with red, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm160331_203b
March Greenville County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_hederacea_1702
March Polk County NC
)
Gill Newberry gn04_glecoma_hederaceae
April
)
Gill Newberry gn04_glecoma_sprig
April
)
JK Marlow jkm0504n_24
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0504n_24b
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190408_7147
April Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_hederacea
April
Corolla 2-lipped (lower lip larger), deeply 3-lobed and spotted, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s050421_a
April Greenville County SC
Flowering stems are erect, and flowers (usually 3) arise from leaf axils, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s050421_a1
April Greenville County SC
Leaves are stalked, more or less round, and cordate at the base, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s060408_b
April Anderson County SC
Leaves roundish with blunt-lobed teeth, may be either smooth or hairy, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_hederacea_73355
May NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmghederacea_rm1
May NC-TN
The Roan Highlands
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Glechoma hederacea
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Glechoma hederacea
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISSPELLED)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 164-10-001:
Glecoma hederacea
FAMILY
Lamiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISSPELLED)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Glecoma hederacea
613
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Lawns, gardens, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Common (uncommon in GA Piedmont & SC Coastal Plain) (rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Department of Transportation
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Blue/Violet
Bilaterally symmetrical
2-lipped corolla
4 slightly exserted stamens, curved under the upper lip
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Schizocarp of mericarps
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p231
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p078
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p086
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p405
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p233
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p220
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p260
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p145
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p130
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".