Chrysogonum australe - Gulf coast green-and-gold

Height: 3" foliage, 4" flower stalks
Width: 2’ +
Light Needs: part shade to full shade
Water: average to moist
Flower color: yellow
Bloom time: March, April (with some flowers in fall)

This species is native to neighboring Georgia but is not native to South Carolina. Our native South Carolina species, C. repens, is very similar but spreads much more slowly. C. australe is identified, in part, by stolons that can be as much as to two feet long. The leaves grow in low rosettes. Flowers stand an inch or so above the leaves. The long stolons allow this plant to spread rapidly. In a garden, it makes a comparatively quick groundcover that will cascade over walls, slopes and the sides of containers. It is a good replacement for the non-native ajuga or bugleweed. The flowers are visited by early pollinators like bees. Deer tend to ignore it - possibly because of its low stature.