Piedmont False Pimpernel (Lindernia monticola)

Lindernia monticola is known by several common names: Piedmont False Pimpernel, Flatrock Pimpernel, Riverbank Pimpernel, False Pimpernel. We found this plant growing on the stone outcrop at Rock and Shoals Outcrop Natural Area in Athens-Clarke County in late April.

At a distance, these flowers tend to blend into the background.

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Up close, the flowers are delicate; white with distinctive purple markings. The Piedmont False Pimpernel is very similar in appearance and size to the…

Mazus pumilus (Japanese Mazus) flowers. Japanese Mazus has distinctive gold spots that make it easy to recognize. Although Japanese Mazus usually grows as a ground cover barely 2 inches tall – and I’ve seen it grow as a ground cover at Fort Yargo State Park - I saw it blooming on taller stalks along the Frog Pond Trail at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Natural Preserve.

Leaves of the Piedmont False Pimpernel.

Lindernia monticola is native to the United States and grows only in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Mazus pumilis (Japanese Mazus) grows in the eastern United States as well as in the Pacific Coast states.
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Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Lindernia monticola (Piedmont False Pimpernel)
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Mazus pumilus (Japanese Mazus)

- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Lindernia monticola
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Mazus pumilius

Identification resources:
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Lindernia monticola (Flatrock Pimpernel, Riverbank Pimpernel, False Pimpernel)
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Mazus pumilis (Japanese mazus)
- Southeastern Flora: Japanese Mazus (Mazus pumilus)

Related post:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index