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PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE

NOMENCLATURE

Other Names:

Scientific Name: Lythrum salicaria L.

 Plant Family: Lythraceae

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Description: herbaceous

 Stems: stout, square, may be smooth or slightly hairy, reach 1 - 4 feet height

 Leaves: lance-shaped, either opposite or whorled around stem

 Roots:

Flowers: each with six narrow petals, red to purple, borne on many-flowered spikes interspersed with smaller leaves, each spike is the top 4 to 18 inches of an erect stem, bloom June - September

 Seeds: Many tiny (<1/16 inch) oval to round seeds in a dry capsule.

 Seedling:

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Poses a serious threat to North American wetlands, replacing native vegetation.

LIFE CYCLE

Reproduction: perennial

 Propagation: seeds & vegetative

Dispersal: animals & man

DISTRIBUTION

State: Found in many wetland areas.

 National: Variations of this species occur in many marshes and wetlands east of the Mississippi River.

 Origin: Eurasia

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Common to marshes, wet meadows, lake shores, and streams. Infringes on drainage ditches and reservoirs on cranberry marshes. Occurs most often in soils disturbed by agriculture, poor drainage, or fluctuating water levels.

SCOUTING PROCEDURE/ET

While scouting a cranberry bed for disease and insect pests, identify weed populations as they arise. Note the specie(s) of weed present as well as the population level relative to field area. Example: 30% purple loosestrife, 20% boneset and joe-pye weed mix.

REFERENCES

Gleason, H. A. 1952. Illustrated Flora of the United States and Adjacent Canada. Vol 2. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. 577.

Kummer, L. D., T. G. Dittl, and T. D. Planer. 1993. Wisconsin Cranberry Weeds. Wisconsin Cranberry Board, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. p. 11.

 

McGregor, R. L. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. p. 497.

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