What Plant Is Pennywort? Characteristics and Care Methods Explained

Pennywort is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Hydrocotyle, and some people regard it as a lobed-leaf variety of lawn pennywort (Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides). It often grows in moist field edges, ditch banks and under forest canopies. Its leaves are nearly round, but the edges are deeply palmate-lobed, looking like a cracked copper coin, which is how pennywort got its name. Many gardening enthusiasts confuse it with round-leaf pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris) and moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia), but they are not actually the same plant.

They are easy to tell apart by appearance: round-leaf pennywort has complete, rounded leaves like a small round copper coin; pennywort has distinctly cracked leaves, and the plant is shorter and smaller, with slender, soft stems that creep along the ground. It also blooms, producing tiny greenish-white flower clusters hidden among the new leaves, not very conspicuous.

For care, pennywort likes a warm, humid environment and has some shade tolerance; it grows best in a spot with plenty of scattered light. During the growing season, keep the potting soil moist, and it can also be grown semi-hydroponically in soil and water or fully in water, just like round-leaf pennywort. It propagates easily: the creeping stems root wherever they touch the soil, and dividing the plant or cutting runners to plant gives a fairly high survival rate.

Besides its ornamental value, pennywort is also used as a folk herbal medicine. In some regions the whole plant is harvested, mostly for folk remedies for clearing heat and draining dampness; if you want to use it medicinally, it is best to consult a doctor first. As a small foliage plant, it is well suited to accenting water feature tanks and terrariums. Just keep the humidity up in daily care and protect it from freezing in winter, and it will overwinter successfully.