Photo ©2004 Kurt Stüber
Click any photo for a larger image
Photo ©2005 Rasbak
Creeping Jenny - Lysimachia nummularia
Family - Primulaceae
Also known as - Golden Creeping Jenny, Moneywort
Photo ©2004 Kurt Stüber
Click any photo for a larger image
Photo ©2005 Rasbak
This plant is poisonous
Creeping Jenny is a vigorous prostrate evergreen perennial with bright yellow star shaped cupped terminal flowers of five petals to 2cm (0.8in) across solitary in the leaf axils. It forms a mat of hairless creeping stems of small rounded or ovate, green to golden–yellow heart shaped leaves, spreading rapidly and indefinitely by stems which root from the axils where they tough the ground. It prefers moist soils in partial shade and can be seen in flower during June and August, it is a favourite garden plant for damp areas and pond edges but with its vigorous growth it can easily take over a large area. Native to southern UK and central Europe it is regarded as an introduced invasive species in North America. Its common name Moneywort refers to its small flowers whilst its Latin name nummularia means "like a coin"
Escaped cultivars of Creeping Jenny are frequently found in the countryside. They produce panicles of flowers rather than the single flowers of the wild plant, and so the more flowers that Creeping Jenny plants have the more likely it is that they are garden escapes rather than truly wild plants. It is a close relative of Yellow Pimpernel, which has narrower leaves and smaller flowers with much more pointed petals.
FBCP do not advise or recommend that Creeping Jenny – Lysimachia nummularia is eaten or used as an herbal remedy. Creeping Jenny has been used in herbalism in particular for treating vomiting or "given to casting". In traditional Chinese Medicine the plant is used to treat gall stones.
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