PRIMROSE FAMILY 
( Primulacece) 
(A) Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia terrestris ). 
Yellow Loosestrife lias a tall, slender, simple stem from 
8 to 24 inches high. The leaves are pointed-lanceolate, 
stemless and crowded along the stem, either oppositely 
or alternately. The flower spike is long and contains 
many buds on slender pedicels; they open from the bot¬ 
tom of the spike upwards. Each flower has five, pointed 
golden-yellow petals, each with two small reddish brown 
spots near the base; the stamens and pistil project in 
a cone-like cluster. This Loosestrife is abundant from 
Newfoundland to Hudson Bay and southwards. 
(B) Four Leaved Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadri- 
folia) is a very common species found in low land in 
about the same range. The flowers are very similar but 
each petal has a single large spot of reddish brown at 
its base instead of a double one; the flowers appear 
from the axils of the upper leaves. The pointed, lanceo¬ 
late leaves are whorled about the stem usually in groups 
of fours, occasionally more or less. 
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