Soleirolia soleirolii (icon or -, syn. Helxine soleirolii) is a plant in the nettle family

Urticaceae

Urticaceae, or the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica . Urticaceae includes a number of well-known and useful plants, including the aforementioned nettles, Ramie , māmaki , and ajlai .The family includes approximately 2600 species, grouped...

. It has a number of common names, including baby's tears, angel's tears, mind-your-own-business, peace-in-the-home, pollyanna vine, mother of thousands, and the Corsican curse. It has also been called Irish moss; however, it is not a moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

, nor should it be confused with Sagina subulata

Sagina subulata

Sagina subulata is a species of Sagina, native to Europe, from Iceland south to Spain, and east to southern Sweden and Romania...

or Chondrus crispus, which are also known as "Irish moss". It is a delicate-looking creeping herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

 with juicy bright green or yellow leaves and multitudes of tiny white flowers. It grows close to the ground in mats and is sometimes used in ornamental garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...

s alongside fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

s and other moisture-loving type of plants.

This species is native to the northern Mediterranean region in and around Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and nearby islands, but it has been introduced

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 and cultivated nearly worldwide as an ornamental and garden plant. It can be grown indoors as a houseplant

Houseplant

A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as residences and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes, positive psychological effects, or health reasons such as indoor air purification...

 and used in habitats for amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s. It prefers shade and moderate moisture.It can even grow submersed in swampy environments. In colder regions the plant dies back during winter, but it returns with lush growth as the temperature increases. It is capable of vegetative reproduction

Vegetative reproduction

Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...

, so to eradicate it once it has become established in an area, the entire plant must be removed, or else it can sprout new growth. It is a common weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

 in many places. Nurseries

Nursery (horticulture)

A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...

 grow several varieties, including gold, yellow, and white breeds, but the mossy-green type is most popular with gardeners.

This species, the only member of a monotypic genus, was named after Joseph-Francois Soleirol by Esprit Requien. Soleirol, an amateur botanist, originally collected the plant in Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

.