Bacopa

Bacopa is a diverse genus of herbs in the plantain family, rather than one uniform garden plant. Depending on species, members may be annual or perennial and may grow on land, in wetlands, or in water, so flowering, mature size, hardiness, and care need to be matched to a species before planting. ## Form and identification The genus includes roughly 60 accepted species. FloraOnline describes creeping or floating stems, opposite leaves, and flowers borne singly or in pairs in the leaf axils. These broad traits help identify the group but do not identify a particular species or supply a dependable garden-size range. ## Growing context Many Bacopa species are associated with wetland or aquatic settings, but requirements vary. Confirm the botanical species and whether it is intended for a pond, aquarium, bog edge, or ordinary soil before choosing a site. Do not assume that the ornamental plant sold under the common trade name “bacopa” is this botanical genus: trailing basket bacopa is often sold under that name while catalogued botanically as Sutera or Chaenostoma. [Kew Plants of the World Online: Bacopa](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331379-2) · [NSW FloraOnline genus description](https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?lvl=gn&name=Bacopa&page=nswfl) ## Maintenance Care cannot be prescribed reliably at genus level. Identify the species and its intended growing environment first; aquatic forms may need water-depth and containment decisions that do not apply to terrestrial species.