Frogfruit

Description:

It is a low growing plant only reaching a height of three to five inches. The trailing stems have a woody base, tend to form mats and can be as long as three feet. The leaves are about 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches long with toothed margins towards the end of the leaf. The white flowers have five petals and are found in spikes about 4 inches long. Frog Fruit blooms from May to October.

Habitat:

Miller Springs Park is a 360-acre park located below Belton Lake, on the Leon River, in Bell County, Texas. It contains diverse riparian terrain, including limestone bluffs, estuarial wetlands, mountain cedar hilltops, and riverside cottonwood stands. Numerous trails traverse prairie-like open spaces and forests of native cedar elm, live oak, and red oaks. Recent floods have created a new canyon that reveals numerous layers of sedimentary rock and fossils. Area wildlife includes white-tail deer, red foxes, coyotes, black squirrels, armadillos, and about 200 species of birds in the course of the year.

Notes:

The leaves are eaten by white-tailed deer, javelinas, feral pigs and cattle. Butterflies, such as the Phaon Crescent, the White Peacock, and the Common Buckeye, use this plant as caterpillar food.