Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the herbaceous layer, and provides habitats and concealments for terrestrial fauna. The most widespread ground covers are grasses of various types.
Ficaria verna, commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. Native to Europe and Western Asia, it is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species. The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep. For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a noxious weed. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing late February through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.
Artemisia vulgaris, commonly known as mugwort or common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus Artemisia commonly known as mugwort, although Artemisia vulgaris is the species most often called mugwort. Mugworts have been used medicinally and as culinary herbs.
Onopordum acanthium is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and Western Asia from the Iberian Peninsula east to Kazakhstan, and north to central Scandinavia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, with especially large populations present in the United States and Australia. It is a vigorous biennial plant with coarse, spiny leaves and conspicuous spiny-winged stems.
Allium tuberosum is a species of plant native to the Chinese province of Shanxi, and cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in Asia and around the world. It has a number of uses in Asian cuisine.
Conium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. As of December 2020, Plants of the World Online accepts six species.
Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Heracleum mantegazzianum, commonly known as giant hogweed, is a monocarpic perennial herbaceous plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. H. mantegazzianum is also known as cartwheel-flower, giant cow parsley, giant cow parsnip, or hogsbane. In New Zealand, it is also sometimes called wild parsnip or wild rhubarb.
Bishop's weed is a common name for several plants, all but one of which belong to the plant family Apiaceae.
Aegopodium is a plant genus of the family Apiaceae native to Europe and western Asia. It is represented by about twelve species, all are herbs. Flowers are compounded, umbels appearing in spring-summer and are visited by many types of insect pollinators. Fruit consists of two-winged or ribbed nuts that separate on ripening.
Allium vineale is a perennial, bulb-forming species of wild onion, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and the Middle East. The species was introduced in Australia and North America, where it has become an Invasive species.
Aethusa cynapium is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Apiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northwest Africa. It is the only member of the genus Aethusa. It is related to hemlock and water-dropwort, and like them it is poisonous, though less so than hemlock. It has been introduced into many other parts of the world and is a common weed in cultivated ground.
Sanguisorba minor, the salad burnet, garden burnet, small burnet, burnet, pimpernelle, Toper's plant, and burnet-bloodwort, is an edible perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae. It has ferny, toothed-leaf foliage; the unusual crimson, spherical flower clusters rise well above the leaves on thin stems. It generally grows to 25–55 cm tall. The large, long, taproots store water, making it drought-tolerant.
Hedychium gardnerianum, the Kahili ginger, Kahila garland-lily or ginger lily, is a species of flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, native to the Himalayas in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is an erect herbaceous perennial growing to 8 ft (2.4 m) tall with long, bright green leaves clasping the tall stems. The very fragrant pale yellow and red flowers are held in dense spikes above the foliage. They appear towards the end of summer.
Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). It is also sometimes called mother-die, a name that is also applied to the common hawthorn. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. It is related to other diverse members of Apiaceae, such as parsley, carrot, hemlock and hogweed. It is often confused with Daucus carota, another member of the Apiaceae also known as "Queen Anne's lace" or "wild carrot".
Anredera cordifolia, commonly known as the Madeira vine or mignonette vine, is a South American species of ornamental succulent vine of the family Basellaceae. The combination of fleshy leaves and thick aerial tubers makes this a very heavy vine. It smothers trees and other vegetation it grows on and can easily break branches and bring down entire trees on its own. Other names include lamb's tail and potato vine.
Caulophyllum is a small genus of perennial herbs belonging to the family Berberidaceae and closely related to the Eurasian genera Leontice and Gymnospermium. It is native to eastern Asia and eastern North America. These plants are distinctive spring wildflowers, which grow in moist, rich woodland, it is known for its large triple-compound leaf, and large blue, berry-like fruits. Unlike many spring wildflowers, it is not an ephemeral plant and persists throughout much of the summer. Common names for plants in this genus include blue cohosh, squaw root, and papoose root. As hinted at by its common names, this plant is well known as an alternative medicine for inducing childbirth and menstrual flow; it is also considered a poisonous plant.
Ammi majus, commonly called bishop's flower, false bishop's weed, laceflower, bullwort, etc., is a member of the carrot family Apiaceae. The plant, which has white lace-like flower clusters, has a large distribution through Southern Europe, North Africa and West and Central Asia, though it is hypothesized to be native to the Nile River Valley.
Thaumatococcus daniellii, also known as miracle fruit or miracle berry, is a plant species from tropical Africa of the Marantaceae family. It is a large, rhizomatous, flowering herb native to the rainforests of western Africa in Sierra Leone, southeast to Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also an introduced species in Australia and Singapore.
Stachys floridana is a species of betony in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the United States, where its true native range is probably limited to Florida, but today it is known throughout the Southeast as an introduced species and common weed. It occurs as far west as Texas, and it has been recorded in California. Its common names include Florida betony, Florida hedgenettle, and rattlesnake weed. It has been called wild artichoke, but it is not closely related to artichoke. The plant was the Florida Department of Agriculture's "Weed of the Month" for February 2010.
