LOOSESTRIFE FAMILl 
( Lytliracece) 
Purple or Spiked Loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria) 
(European). Undoubtedly this species, which came to 
us from Europe, is the most beautiful of the genus. 
The plant grows from 2 to 4 feet high and branches 
towards the top. The many purple flowers, making up 
the spike, each have six long petals and are trimor- 
phous, that is flowers on the same plant have, relatively, 
three different lengths of stamens and pistils. Purple 
Loosestrife is found locally in swamps and on marshy 
borders of streams from Me. to Del. and westwards. 
Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum) is a tall slender, na¬ 
tive species growing 1 to 3 feet high, angular and 
branching. The deep green, lance-shaped leaves are set 
oppositely on the lower stem and alternately on the 
upper branches. The flowers appear sparingly from the 
axils of the leaves near the ends of the branches. This 
species grows in moist ground from N. S. to Minn, and 
southwards to the Gulf. 
117 
