Spermacoce remota

Spermacoce remota, the woodland false buttonweed, is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States (Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama), West Indies (Bermuda, Bahamas, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, Trinidad, Lesser Antilles, etc.), Mexico, Central America and South America. It is naturalized in Taiwan, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia), China (Guangdong), India, Sri Lanka, New Guinea, Mauritius and many other oceanic islands (including Hawaii and the Galápagos). Spermacoce remota is a perennial herb or sub-shrub up to 70 cm tall. Stems are either round or square in cross-section. Leaves are lanceolate, up to 5 cm long. Flowers are small, white, in a clump at the top of the stem. This herb is a common ground for oviposition of butterfly eggs, such as those of Anartia fatima.