Blue Water-hyssop
Bacopa caroliniana
Found in wet shores, tidal muds, marshes, disturbed wetland sites. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4–12 inches
- Spread
- 1 foot 8 inches–3 feet 4 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to October
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 62 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 181 animals.
- Roseate SpoonbillPlatalea ajaja
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Boat-tailed GrackleQuiscalus major
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Bacopa
- Anartia jatrophaeWhite Peacock
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
- Parapoynx maculalisPolymorphic Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
- Stenoptilodes brevipennisNarrow Plume Moth
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Bacopa
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 8a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Blue
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Blue” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 8a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–12 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “blue” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1 foot 8 inches–3 feet 4 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Blue Water Hyssop
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























