Pacific False Buttonweed
Spermacoce mauritiana
- Habit
- Herb
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Pacific False Buttonweed
Identify Pacific False Buttonweed by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm leaf surface: Hirsute (coarsely hairy).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- Confirm it sits within the Rubiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Pacific False Buttonweed.
Plant Details
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Hirsute (coarsely hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Pacific False Buttonweed itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Pacific False Buttonweed itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family — flowering plants only.
About Pacific False Buttonweed
A member of the Rubiaceae family, Pacific False Buttonweed (Spermacoce mauritiana) is a herb. It is native to Tropical America. It grows in moist and dry deciduous forests and waste places. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Rubiaceae
Coffee/Madder family
Pacific False Buttonweed belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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