(lii-si-maa' key-yah, lii-si-mah' key-yah)
Common name: Loosestrife
Family: Primrose family (Primulaceae, listed by some botanists under Myrsinaceae)
Height x width: 4-36" x 8-24" depending on species
Growth rate, habit: fast; generally root invasive spreading mass
Foliage: opposite or whorled, various with species
Flowers: yellow or white, midsummer, rounded or bell-shaped, single or in narrow racemes
Hardiness: zones 3 or 5 to 8 or 9, depending on species
Soil: moist, most, tolerates damp
Light: sun, part shade
Pests and Problems: leaf scorch from dry soil, mites, groundhog feeding
Landscape habit, uses: some species very root invasive and difficult to contain, masses in borders, slopes, damp areas (not near water as root pieces can be relocated, invading habitats), cut flower
Other interest: native to northern temperate areas depending on species; common name is a literal translation of the Greek word lysimachia which was named after King Lysimachus of Thrace. Legend has it that he waved a plant of it in front of a maddened beast to calm it; or as Gerard in his herbal of the middle ages wrote, it was used to calm angry oxen from putting it on their yokes "appeasing the strife and unrulinesse which falleth out among oxen at the plough..."
Other culture: see notes under landscape uses, will need dividing to try and contain yearly
Propagation: division, root or stem cuttings which root quite readily, seeds
Species:
Of the several species available in commerce, summarized in the table below, the following three are the most commonly seen.
•clethroides (cleth-roy' dees)--Gooseneck Loosestrife, flowers ½" long in 6-18" raceme curved like a "goose neck", used as a cut flower in Europe, very invasive (photo courtesy Missouri Botanical Gardens plantfinder)
•nummularia (nuu-muu-lair' ee-ah)--Creeping Jenny or Loosestrife, naturalized from Europe in eastern U.S. at woodland edges, rounded leaves, single fragrant flowers, stems along ground root readily
•punctata (punk-tah'
tah)--Yellow Loosestrife, naturalized
in eastern U.S. in moist shady areas hence often called "ditch weed", leaves
whorled, flowers to 1" across and also whorled in upper leaf axils, flowers
lemon yellow with brown throat, more weedy in south than north, very invasive
| Species | zones | height | flowers | habit | native | other |
| barystachys | 5-8 | 18-24" | white | upright | Asia | terminal spike |
| ciliata | 4-8 | 24-36" | yellow | upright | N. Amer. | hairy leaf margins |
| clethroides | 3-8 | 24-36" | white | upright | Asia | arching flowers |
| congestiflora | 7-8 | 4-8" | yellow | creeping | China | dense mats |
| ephemerum | 7-8 | 24-36" | white | erect | SW Eur. | terminal raceme |
| fraseri | 4-8 | 24-36" | yellow | upright | N. Amer. | syn. lanceolata |
| japonica | 5-8 | 2-10" | yellow | creeping | EurAsia | good groundcover |
| nummularia | 3-9 | 4-8" | yellow | creeping | Europe | naturalized grouncover |
| punctata | 4-8 | 12-24" | yellow | upright | EurAsia | flowers up stem |
| vulgaris | 4-8 | 12-24" | yellow | upright | EurAsia | terminal flowers |
Cultivars:
| Cultivar | species | foliage, habit, other |
| 'Alexander' | punctata | variegated, not spreading as species |
| 'Aurea' | nummularia | lime green to yellowish leaves, less aggressive |
| 'Firecracker' | ciliata | dark red leaves, long bloom, excellent |
| 'Minutissima' | japonica | 1-2" tall, good between paving stones |
| 'Purpurea':'Firecracker' | ciliata | |
('Alexander' photo courtesy Missouri Botanical Gardens plantfinder)
©Authored by Dr. Leonard Perry, Professor, University of Vermont as part of PSS123 course.
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