Yellow Pennywort - a native (Hydrocotyle foveolata)

Family: Araliaceae (Star-hair family).

Native.

Occurrence: Common, but readily overlooked because of its small size.

Identification:

• it is a small plant growing to a few centimetres high
• the leaves are green but readily turn yellow
• the leaves are round but indented almost to the base
• the flowers clusters are stalkless or scarcely stalked (except for the stalked terminal cluster).

It is similar to Small Pennywort. Yellow Pennywort differs in that the leaves are more deeply incised (well over half way), readily turn yellow, and the flower clusters (except for the usually stalked terminal cluster) are not stalked. The two species sometimes grow together.

Photos: Kalimna, Castlemaine.