iPurple Loosestrife
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Myrtales Family: Lythraceae Genus: Lythrum Species: L. salicaria
Binomial name
Lythrum salicaria L.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Lythrum salicaria

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a semi-aquatic herbaceous plant belonging to the loosestrife family, Lythraceae, native to the wetlands of Eurasia. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x1190, 421 KB) Photo by user Meggar I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families See text. ... Genera 32 (28); see text. ... Species See text Lythrum is a genus commonly known as loosestrife. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Genus commonly known as loosestrife. ... Genera 32 (28); see text. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... Eurasia African-Eurasian aspect of Earth Eurasia is the landmass composed of Europe and Asia. ...

It is a herbaceous perennial plant, growing 1-2 m tall, forming clonal colonies 1.5 m or more in width with numerous erect stems growing from a single woody root mass. The stems are reddish-purple and square in cross-section. The leaves are lanceolate, 3-10 cm long and 1-2 cm broad, downy and sessile, and arranged opposite or in whorls of three. The flowers are reddish purple, 10-15 mm diameter, with six petals (occasionally five), and are clustered tightly in the axils of bracts or leaves. The fruit is a small 3-4 mm capsule containing numerous minute seeds. Flowering lasts throughout the summer. When the seeds are mature, the leaves often turn bright red through dehydration in early autumn; the red colour may last for almost two weeks. The dead stalks from previous growing seasons are brown. This article is about the plants used in cooking and medicine. ... Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of an original organism or thing. ... The leaves of a Beech tree A leaf with laminar structure and pinnate venation In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Clivia miniata A cluster of flowers (Clivia miniata) A Blue Summer Flower. ... The axil is the space or angle between a primary stalk or branch and a smaller branch or leaf coming off from the primary branch. ... Toothed bracts on Rhinanthus minor In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, from the axil of which a flower or flower stalk arises; or a bract may be any leaf associated with an inflorescence. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... Flowers and fruit (capsules) of the ground orchid, Spathoglottis plicata. ... A ripe red jalapeno cut open to show the seeds For other uses, see Seed (disambiguation). ...

Other names include spiked loosestrife, purple lythrum, or salicaire. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Primulaceae. Genera See text Primulaceae is a family of flowering plants with about 24 genera, including some favorite garden plants and wildflowers. ...

Lythum salicaria growing near a road.

Purple loosestrife invading an old Erie Canal lock, Durhamville, New York

Image File history File links Lythrum_salicaria. ... Image File history File links Lythrum_salicaria. ... Old Erie Canal lock Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 03:50, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Old Erie Canal lock Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 03:50, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Erie Canal (currently part of the New York State Canal System) is a canal in New York State, United States, that runs from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Cultivation and uses

Purple loosestrife has become an invasive species since its introduction into temperate New Zealand and North America where it is now considered a noxious weed. The seeds probably first arrived in the plant's non-native areas in muddy ballast water emptied from ships. It has also been used as a medicinal herb and cultivated as a garden plant. The flowers are quite showy and bright, and monotypic fields of purple loosestrife are deceptively attractive. The truth is that purple loosestrife has had a very destructive impact on North American wetland ecology since the early 19th century. Lantana Invasion of abandoned citrus plantation; Moshav Sdey Hemed, Israel; May 2, 2006 The term invasive species refers to a subset of those species defined as introduced species or non-indigenous species. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The notion of weed is almost entirely in the eye of the beholder. ... The term Herbalism refers to folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. ...

The plants grow vigorously and spread very fast when removed from their natural controlling agents. Infestations result in dramatic disruption in water flow in rivers and canals, and a sharp decline in biological diversity. Native food and cover plant species, notably cattails, are completely crowded out, and the life cycles of organisms from waterfowl to amphibians to algae are affected. There is, however, a confounding view to the latter claims, namely that they are not supported by conclusive scientific evidence, but rather an overwhelming number of subjective observations (Hager and McCoy 1998). Biodiversity or biological diversity is a neologism and a portmanteau word, from bio and diversity. ... Species See text. ...

Purple loosestrife is still sold in some areas as an ornamental. Plants marketed under the name European wand loosestrife (L. virgatum) are in fact the same species as purple loosestrife despite the different name. In some cases the plants sold are assumed to be sterile; in fact, this is rarely the case. The sale of purple loosestrife is illegal in many areas. Its detrimental effects are simply too costly to risk.

In North America, purple loosestrife may be distinguished from similar native plants (e.g. fireweed Epilobium angustifolium, blue vervain Verbena hastata, Liatris Liatris spp., and spiraea Spiraea douglasii) by its angular stalks which are square in outline, as well by it leaves, which are in pairs that alternate at right angle and are not serated. Binomial name Epilobium angustifolium L. For the tropical plant, see Crassocephalum. ... Species About 250 species, including: Verbena alata Verbena bonariensis Verbena bracteata Verbena brasiliensis Verbena canadensis Verbena carolina Verbena corymbosa Verbena elegans Verbena gracilis Verbena hastata Verbena hispida Verbena incisa Verbena laciniata Verbena lasiostachys Verbena macdougallii Verbena menthifolia Verbena officinalis Verbena peruviana Verbena phlogiflora Verbena rigida Verbena robusta Verbena runyonii Verbena... A popular summer flower for bouquets. ... Meadowsweet (Spiraea ulmaria) is a perennial herb of the Rosaceae family, which grows in damp meadows. ... Hardhack (Spiraea douglasii) is a shrub of northwestern United States, Canada, and southern Alaska, east to Alberta and Idaho. ...

Biological control

A single plant may produce up to three million tiny seeds annually. Easily carried by wind and water, the seeds germinate in moist soils after overwintering. The plant can also sprout anew from pieces of root left in the soil or water. Once established, infestations are extremely difficult and costly to remove by mechanical and chemical means.

Purple loosestrife provides a model of successful biological pest control. Research began in 1985 and today the plant is managed well with a number of insects that feed on it. Four species of beetle use purple loosestrife as their natural food source and they can do significant damage to the plant. The beetles used as biological control agents include two species of leaf beetle and two species of weevil. Predatory Polistes wasp looking for bollworms or other caterpillars on a cotton plant Biological control of pests and diseases is a method of controlling pests and diseases in agriculture that relies on natural predation rather than introduced chemicals. ... Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Wikispecies has information related to: Coleoptera Beetles are the most diverse group of insects. ... Subfamilies See text. ... Families Nemonychidae Anthribidae Belidae Attelabidae Brentidae Caridae Ithyceridae Curculionidae A weevil is a beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. ...

• The black-margined loosestrife beetle Galerucella calmariensis is a brown beetle with a black line on its thorax. The adult feeds on the leaves of the plant, producing characteristic round holes. Its larvae destroy tender leaf buds and strip the tissue from the leaves.
• The golden loosestrife beetle Galerucella pusilla is nearly identical to G. calmariensis, but usually lacks the black thoracic line. Its feeding habits are also quite similar to the other leaf beetle. An infestation of either of these insects is extremely effective in wiping out a stand of purple loosestrife, defoliating up to 100% of the plants in an area.
• The loosestrife root weevil Hylobius transversovittatus is a large red nocturnal weevil, which spends its nights feeding on leaves and leaf buds. The larvae emerge from their eggs and immediately burrow into the root of the plant, which they feed on continuously for over a year. This root damage stunts the plant's growth and ability to create seeds. If several larvae inhabit the same root, the plant can be killed.
• The loosestrife flower weevil Nanophyes marmoratus is a tiny weevil which lays a single egg in each flower. When the larvae emerge they eat the flowers' ovaries, and the plant is unable to create seed. The larvae usually proceed to hollow out the flower buds and use them as safe places to pupate.

External links

• National Park Service - Purple Loosestrife Facts

Further reading

Wilson, L.M., Schwarzlaender, M., Blossey, B., & Randall, C.B. (2004). Biology and Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife. Morgantown, WV: Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, United States Department of Agriculture.

Hager, H. and McCoy, K. 1998. The implacations of accepting untested hypothesis:a review of the effects of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in North America. Biodiversity and Conservation 7: 1069-1079.