Houttuynia cordata
species of plant
Houttuynia cordata, also known as fish mint, fish leaf, rainbow plant, chameleon plant, heart leaf, fish wort, or Chinese lizard tail, is one of two species in the genus Houttuynia (the other being H. emeiensis). It is a flowering plant native to Southeast Asia. It grows in moist, shady locations. It was named after Martinus Houttuyn.
Growth
Houttuynia cordata is a herbaceous perennial plant that can grow to 0.6–1 m (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 3 in), spreading up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in). The proximal part of the stem is trailing and produces adventitious roots, while the distal part of the stem grows vertically. The leaves are alternate, broadly heart-shaped, 4–9 cm (1+1⁄2–3+1⁄2 in) long and 3–8 cm (1–3 in) broad. Its flowers are greenish-yellow and borne on a terminal spike 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long with four to six large white basal bracts. It normally blooms in the summer.
It is considered an invasive plant because of its ability to regrow rhizomes from any segment of its foliage.
The public source identifies “Houttuynia cordata” as species of plant. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Houttuynia, cordata and species.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q164091. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Houttuynia cordata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.