During this season, you can see the large flower pusley, also known as Mexican clover, everywhere. This is the type of weed that inspires love-hate relationships! Landscapers call it a persistent weed, but pollinators and some homeowners love it.
Richardia grandiflora is a perennial broadleaf plant belonging to the Rubiaceae family—the same family as coffee and gardenias. It is native to Brazil and has naturalized widely across warm U.S. climates, thriving in sandy, disturbed soils. Its rapid spreading habit and tolerance for drought and poor soils allow it to easily outcompete turfgrass when lawns are stressed.
It is a creeping perennial that roots at the nodes, with hairy, branching stems. The leaves are opposite, hairy, and elliptical in shape. Flowers are white, pink, or lavender, star-shaped, and clustered at the tip of branches. Reproduced by seed or stem fragments. It is found in disturbed sandy areas or turf.
How to Manage it
The most effective long-term approaches are:
- Maintain proper mowing height
- Improve soil quality with compost or topdressing
- Ensure adequate irrigation but avoid overwatering
- Use balanced fertilization
- Use of postemergence broadleaf herbicides like 2,4–D, dicamba, MCPP, and the combination of thiencarbazone-methyl + iodosulfuron + dicamba (Celsius)
Literature
Biology and Management of Pusley (Richardia L.) in Turfgrass and Landscape Planting Beds
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