Sphagneticola trilobata (Wedelia)

  • TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN): 0113
  • Botanical Name: Sphagneticola trilobata
  • Common Name: Wedelia, Trailing Daisy, Singapore Daisy, Creeping Ox-eye
  • Cultivar: N/A
  • Family: Asteraceae
Sphagneticola trilobata 
Photo by Matthew Gaston

  • Native To: Central America, Mexico, Caribbean  

Landscaping Information

    • Plant Type: Groundcover
    • Texture: Medium, Coarse
    • Form: Mat
    • Height (on average, in landscape use):  <1' - 1'
    • Height to Spread Ratio: A spreading, groundcover, usually not becoming more than 1.5' tall.
    • Growth Rate: Fast
    • Landscape Values:  Border, Edging, Filler, Framing, Groundcover, Mass, Erosion Control
    • Outstanding Quality:  Robust groundcover: great for urban landscapes
    Sphagneticola trilobata 
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Botanical Descriptions

    • Flowers: Yellow, 1" wide, aster-type with ray and disc flowers.  Many more disc flowers than ray flowers.

    Sphagneticola trilobata flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Sphagneticola trilobata flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Sphagneticola trilobata flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Sphagneticola trilobata flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Sphagneticola trilobata ray flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Sphagneticola trilobata disc flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Fruits: Not frequently produced.
    • Foliage Color: Young/immature: light green. Mature: Bright medium green to dark green (depends if it is grown in full sun or shade. e.g. Shade would be dark green.)
    • Foliage Tip: Acute
    • Foliage Base: Rounded to Obtuse
    • Petiole: sessile
    • Margins: Toothed
    • Leaf Arrangement: Decussate
    • Leaf Shape: rhomboidal 
    • Leaf Type: Simple
    • Leaf Texture: Course, sandpapery, scabrous adaxial surface. Abaxial surface is similar, but with pronounced venation. 
    • Leaf Special Notes: As the plant matures, leaves.will developed the name-sake trilobed shape.
    Sphagneticola trilobata adaxial leaf surface
    Photo by Matthew Gaston


    Sphagneticola trilobata abaxial leaf surface
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Bark and Trunk: An herbaceous, spreading groundcover that does not produce much lignified tissue.

    Horticultural Information

      • Light Preference: Semi-Sun, Full Sun
      • Light Tolerances: Shade
      • Soil Preferences: Not Particular, but well-drained is ideal.
      • Tolerances: Not Particular, Acidic,  Alkaline, Smog, Compacted Soil, Salt Air, Saline Soil, Strong Winds, Moderate Winds, Humidity, Regular Watering, Drought, Being Walked Upon. 
      • Water Requirements: Low water requirements.
      • Notes on Maintenance: This groundvoer will spread readily, leading it to be a High Risk plant according to its Weed Risk Assessment. Planting in a container or a confined space is the best use of this highly tolerant plant. Open field mass planting would be an example of an unsavory choice. This plant serves the role of rugged, urban groundcover. Naturally found in coastal areas, so would be appropriate in controlled coastal settings.
      • Propagation:  Cutting, laying; will readily root at nodes when creeping and can be divided from there.
      • Minimum USDA Hardiness Zone: 8
      • Weed Risk Assessment Score (WRA): 13, High Risk
      Sphagneticola trilobata
      Photo by Matthew Gaston

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