Common name: goatweed
Scoparia dulcis L. APNI* Description: Erect herb to 1 metre high. Branches ribbed to narrowly winged, puberulent at nodes.
Leaves petiolate, rhomboid-ovate to rhomboid-lanceolate, 2–3.6 mm long, 0.75–1.5 cm wide, glabrous, glandular, base cuneate, margin toothed above middle of leaf, sometimes slightly double serrate, or nearly entire, apex obtuse.
Flowers axillary, 1 or 2 per node, c. 4 mm diam., white. Pedicel, 5–10 mm long, glabrous. Bracteoles absent. Calyx lobed to base; lobes 4, c. 2 mm long, margin ciliate, apex obtuse. Corolla tube densely hairy at throat; upper corolla lobe slightly larger than others, stamens exserted.
Capsule 2–3 mm in diameter, columella persistent.
Flowering: Flowers in spring – summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Naturalised near Grafton on the north coast of NSW, naturalised also in Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory. Native to the Neotropics but is a pantropical weed. Grows were there is permanent water.
NSW subdivisions: *NC
Text by Louisa Murray
Taxon concept: Flora of China - http://www.efloras.org
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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