pennywort

Obolaria virginica

Pennywort is a small, pretty plant that grows close to the ground. It has round leaves and can often be found in shady places like forests and along streams.

Habitat: Forests

Appearance

The pennywort is a petite plant with purplish-green to brownish-green scale-like leaves, quite unlike common pennyworts. Its tiny, bell-shaped flowers are white or pale purple, growing in a short cluster on a delicate stem. It blends well into the woodland floor.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassMagnoliopsidaOrderGentianalesFamilyGentianaceaeGenusObolaria

pennywort

Interesting facts

It's sometimes called "false-pennywort" because its leaves are tiny scales, not round coins!

Its delicate, bell-shaped flowers are among the first to bloom in the forest each spring!

Pennywort spends much of its life hidden as a tiny underground rhizome before popping up!

This plant gets most of its food by quietly borrowing from nearby tree roots.

Special abilities

Pennywort can 'steal' nutrients from tree roots using special underground connections, helping it grow in shady forests.

Pennywort has the ability to bloom very early in spring, often before the forest canopy leafs out, catching sunlight when it's available.

Measurements & details

Height: 5-15 cm
Spread: 5-15 cm
Flower Size: 0.5-1 cm
Bloom Season: Early spring
Edible: No
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Insect

Ecological connections

depends on

White Oak

Quercus alba

for nutrients through its roots

pollinates

Honey Bee

Apis mellifera

its small, bell-shaped flowers

eaten by

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

occasionally browses its delicate foliage

Traits

Flowering

Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.

Shade Tolerant

Shade tolerant plants are adapted to grow and thrive in areas with low light levels, requiring less direct sunlight.

Medicinal

Medicinal plants possess chemical compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat illnesses or maintain health.

Edible

Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Forest

Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.