Lesser Joyweed

Scientific Name:

Alternanthera denticulata

Lesser Joyweed plant
Photo: A J Brown

Status:

Native to Australia and New Zealand.

Plant Description:

A prostrate or decumbent, scrambling, annual herb with more or less hairless stems to 40 cm long and rooting at the nodes. Leaves are linear to lancelolate (spear-shaped), oppositely arranged, 2-6 cm long and up to 8 mm wide with entire or slightly toothed margins.

Flower-heads are near-globular to ellipsoid clusters, 4-8 mm wide in the leaf axils, with ovate to lanceolate bracts and flower (or perianth) segments 2-3 mm long.

Habitat:

Widespread throughout Victoria, growing on river margins and in swampy forests, woodlands and grasslands. Usually indicative of fresh-water environments.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Mallee, Loddon Murray, Central and Northern, Wimmera, Western, Gippsland	S0	W0, W1, W2

Comments:

Similar to the introduced Khaki Weed (Alternanthera pungens) but with narrower leaves and non-woolly stems.

Lesser Joyweed leaf
Photo: A J Brown

Lesser Joyweed flowers
Photo: A J Brown

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