Often the bane of tidy gardeners, this is a mat-forming, evergreen, perennial plant which creeps along, colonising pathways, banks, stone walls and frequently cracks in paving. It has very small, round, untoothed, alternate, bright green leaves on thread-like stems which send down roots at nodes. The pale pink flowers are absolute tiny and barely discernible and are just about detectable from May to August. The plant only grows a couple of centimetres about the ground preferring moist shady areas. It is not a native plant and it belongs to the Urticaceae family.
I first recorded this plant in my own garden in Dalkey in the 1980’s and photographed it in 2011. It is the sort of plant which does not earn itself a lot of attention unless you are a gardener.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
