Water Buttons

Scientific Name:

Cotula coronopifolia

Water Buttons

Status:

Native of South Africa. Naturalised in all Australian states and New Zealand.

Plant Description:

Hairless, low growing, perennial herb, spreading from stolons (runners/horizontal stems). Leaves and stems are semi-succulent. The leaves are usually jagged or lobed but sometimes smooth-edged and up to 5 cm long with a base which is clasping or enclosing the stem. Flowers are small yellow, and button-like. Flowers in winter and spring.

Habitat:

Grows on a wide range of soils from sandy loams to clays.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Loddon Murray, Central and Northern	S0, S1, S2, S3	W2, W3
Wimmera, Western, Gippsland	S0, S1, S2, S3, S4	W3, W4

Comments:

Restricted to wet soils that are periodically flooded. Exists in moderately saline, waterlogged soils, and may form large mats over shallow water. Water Buttons is similar to Ferny Cotula but the latter has finely and often twice divided leaves and white flowers with yellow centres.

Water Buttons - flower
Photo: A J Brown

Water Buttons - plants
Photo: A J Brown

This page contains material sourced from the Victorian Resources Online (VRO) website, originally published by the State Government of Victoria.

The content is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence (CC BY 4.0 AU).

This material is presented in an archived form and is no longer maintained or updated. It is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon as current advice.

This site is hosted by the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI), Federation University Australia. It is not endorsed by Agriculture Victoria.

Agriculture Victoria does not accept liability for any loss, damage or consequences arising from the use of, or reliance on, this material.