Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: Eurasia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Purple loosestrife is a wetland flowering plant native to Europe and Asia, recognised by its tall spikes of vivid magenta-purple blossoms that appear from midsummer through autumn. In North America it is a prolific invasive, capable of forming dense monocultures that displace native marsh vegetation.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Lythrum
Species: Lythrum salicaria