| Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Linnaeus, 1753 |
| Synonyms: Lythrum intermedium, Lythrum alternifolium, Lythrum anceps, Lythrum argyi, Lythrum biflorum, (see The Plant List for more synonyms) |
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Lythrum salicaria is native throughout temperate Eurasia and North Africa; introduced to North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It grows in marshes, swamps, wet meadows, lakeshores, river banks, seasonally flooded areas, and ditches; sea level to 500 m. This is a perennial herb, 1-3 m in height, which forms clonal colonies with 30-50 stems per a single root mass. The stems are green to purple, square in cross-section. The leaves are lanceolate, sessile, and pubescent; opposite or in whorls of three; green, but turn red in early autumn. The flowers are arranged in long spikes at the tops of the stems; 6-7 pink to purple petals. Flowering from July to October. Pollinated by long-tongued insects, including bees and butterflies. The fruit is a 3-4 mm capsule containing numerous minute seeds; a single plant may produce 2.5-2.7 million of seeds a year. L. salicaria can re-sprout from root fragments. Extremely invasive outside of its native range, e.g., overcrowds and excludes native vegetation, and disrupts water regime; difficult to eradicate. The Black-margined Loosestrife Beetle (Neogalerucella calmariensis) was introduced to North America to control Purple Loosestrife.
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