PRIMROSE FAMILY 



PRIMULACEAE 



MARSH LOOSESTRIFE 



Steironema guadriflorum (Sims) Hitchc. 



This showy perennial herb grows along streams and lakes 

 and in swamp borders from Virginia to western New York, 

 west to Missouri and Manitoba. It is common in such places in 



Illinois, especially in the north. 



The smooth 4-sided stem grows 

 6-;^6 inches high and branches little 

 or not at all. All but the lowest 

 leaves are sessile and similar to those 

 shown. They are very narrow, i- 

 nerved and with slightly rolled mar- 

 gins, opposite but often with clusters 

 of smaller leaves in their axils. The 

 basal leaves are broader and shorter 

 on slender petioles. 



The yellow flowers appear in 

 June and July, tending to be pro- 

 duced in fours at the ends of the 

 branches. The persistent calyx is 

 5-lobed and somewhat shorter than 

 the corolla. The deeply 5-parted and 

 wheeled-shaped corolla is yellow and 

 beautifully fringed; to it are at- 

 tached the perfect stamens, i at the 

 base of each petal, and the 5 sterile 

 filaments or staminodia which alter- 

 nate with the petals. The pistil has 

 a nearly spherical ovary and a 

 slender style. The fruit is a capsule 

 containing somewhat angled seeds. 



The Common or Fringed Loosestrife, Steironema ciliatiim (L.) 

 Raf., is the largest of the genus, growing 1-4 feet high. It is also 

 distinguished by its broad leaves, heart shaped at the base. The 

 margins of the leaf base and the petioles are fringed with long white 

 hairs. The large yellow flowers, blooming from June through 

 August, have their corollas longer than the calyx, and the latter is 

 also exceeded in fruit by the capsule. This species may be tound in 

 low grounds and thickets from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, 

 south to Georgia and Arizona. 



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