Madeira moneywort
Sibthorpia peregrina
Family · Plantaginaceae · Harmless
The mat of round leaves lining the wet walls of Madeiran levadas, with minute yellow flowers hidden among them. It is among the most seen plants on a levada walk and among the least often named.
Streams and ditches · Walls and rocks · Oak woods
Also known asMadeiran sibthorpia
How to tell it
A creeping plant rooting at the nodes and lining damp stone. Nearly circular leaves two to four centimetres, the edge cut into rounded lobes and the stalk attached at or near the centre. Minute yellow flowers, a few millimetres, solitary at the axils. Range: endemic to Madeira.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
No use. It is worth it as a marker of permanent moisture: where it lines the wall, the levada runs all year.