| Kidney Weed | |
|---|---|
| Kidney Weed at Eastwood, Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Convolvulaceae |
| Genus: | Dichondra |
| Species: | D. repens |
| Binomial name | |
| Dichondra repens J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. |
|
Dichondra repens is a small prostrate herbaceous plant native to New Zealand and many parts of Australia. It is commonly known as Kidney Weed in Australia and as Mercury Bay weed in New Zealand. Often occurring in forest, woodlands and grasslands, it also inhabits suburban lawns. The plant has a creeping habit, with roots forming at the nodes.
The leaves are kidney shaped, and measure 0.5 to 2.5 cm (0.2-1 in) long. The tiny yellowish green flowers form mostly in summer, but can appear at any time of the year. The fruit is a hairy two lobed capsule.
Originally described by botanists Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster, its specific epithet is the Latin adjective repens "creeping".[1]
Kidney weed can be used as a lawn substitute.[2]