Mazus pumilus var. pumilus
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Description
Mazus pumilus var. pumilus is a small annual or short-lived perennial herbaceous plant, usually 5–20 cm tall, forming low mats in moist habitats. The plant has a slender, creeping growth habit with short stolons that allow vegetative spread. Stems are usually prostrate to ascending, delicate, green, and sparsely hairy. Leaves are simple, opposite, and arranged in basal rosettes or along short stems. Leaf blades are obovate to spoon-shaped (spatulate), usually 0.5–3 cm long, with serrated or shallowly lobed margins. The upper surface is green and slightly hairy, while the petiole is narrow and distinct. Flowers are bisexual, zygomorphic, and small, borne singly or in short racemes on slender flowering stalks. The calyx is tubular with five teeth. The corolla is two-lipped (bilabiate), usually pale violet, bluish-purple, or white with purple markings. The upper lip has two lobes, while the lower lip is larger with three lobes and often bears yellow spots that act as nectar guides. Stamens are four, usually didynamous, and the ovary is superior. Fruits are small capsules, usually ovoid, which split open at maturity to release numerous tiny seeds.
Diagnostic Characters
Distribution
Native range: Native to East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia.
In Pakistan: Reported from China, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan. In Pakistan, it may occur in moist areas of Northern regions, Himalayan foothills, Irrigated agricultural landscapes.
Phenology
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Where it grows on campus
Taxonomic Notes
Mazus pumilus belongs to Mazaceae, a small family of mostly herbaceous plants previously placed within Scrophulariaceae and sometimes Phrymaceae based on morphological classifications.