FNPS Plant Database

Lindernia grandiflora

savannah false pimpernel
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

savannah false pimpernel

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Lindernia grandiflora

Family:

Linderniaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

About 6 inches tall but grows as a mat that can spread for 5-ft or more.

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

Blue-lavender with darker blue-lavender spots.

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Dies back in winter but grows back rapidly in spring. Blooms much of the year.

Noted For:

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Groundcover in moist places.

Considerations:

Availability:

Propagation:

Cuttings or division.

Light:

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Usually moist, occasional inundation

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Caterpillars

Reported to be a host plant for the white peacock butterfly.





Attracts small butterflies and small pollinators.

Native Habitats:

Wet flatwoods, edges of marshes and swamps, roadside swales.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This is a near endemic (it is known from a few places in GA).  Sparse near both the northern and southern limits of its range.
FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

BONAP Plant Atlas. (2013). Range maps - Lindernia spp. ( https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Lindernia ). Accessed 2026. Biota of North America Program, Chapel Hill, NC.


Florida Wildflower Foundation. (2021). Flower Friday: Savannah false pimpernel. ( https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-lindernia-grandiflora/ ). Accessed 2026. Florida Wildflower Foundation, Maitland.


Gann, G.D., C.J. Abbott, C.G. Stocking, K.N. Hines, and collaborators. (2001+). Savannah false-pimpernel. Natives For Your Neighborhood. ( https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Lindgran ). Accessed 2026. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida.


Huegel, Craig N. (2009-2025). Native Florida Wildflowers (blog). ( http://hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com/ ).


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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