Blue Water Hyssop
Bacopa caroliniana
Scrophulariaceae (Figwort) Family

Water Hyssop is a low growing, mat-forming, perennial herb, generally succulent, found on saturated soil or shallowly inundated. Its preferred habitat is ponds, streams, forested wetlands, marshes, wet prairies, and brackish areas. Distribution is throughout the Escambia region.

The flowers are bright blue (also called Lemon Hyssop), with 4 stamens, and lemon-scented. The flowers occur in the leaf axils with stalks longer or shorter than subtending leaves. The calyx has dimorphic sepals, and the corolla is tubular, composed of 3 to 5 spreading lobes of equal length to the corolla tube. Flowers occur in summer.

The leaves are succulent, opposite on the stem, subsessile or sessile, and glandular punctate (sunken dots scattered over the surface).

Fruit is a capsule.

Previous Page     Return to Index     Next Page

© 2004 Darryl Searcy
Last Modified: Tue Jul 22 06:46:58 2008