We have chosen the loosestrife, which belongs to the primrose family, as our wild flower of the month. Our common loose-strife, Lysimachia guadrifolia, is a slender, symmetrical flower one to two feet tall. Its lance-shaped leaves are in whorls and its little star-like blossoms are on delicate pedicels at regular intervals along the stem. It is a native of our open woodlands, and in the Spring the leaves have a bronze tinge, turning green later. The little flowers are yellow, streaked with red.
Another common species bearing terminal racemes of small yellow flowers, also flecked with red, is the bulb-bearing loose-strife, Lysimachia terrestris. It has long bulblets usually borne after the flowering season. Sometimes no flowers are produced, only these strange bulblets which, in reality, arc suppressed branches.
Native to Great Britain
Moneywort, a creeping loosestrife, Lysimachia nummularia, comes from Great Britain. It is evergreen and in America formerly was used as a decorative plant in urns or hanging baskets on the veranda. It produces prolific shoots two or three feet in length hanging down on all sides, with yellow flowers. It seems to have disappeared from cultivation in this country, but is still seen running wild from old gardens in Pennsylvania and Indiana northward.
The loosestrifes have the reputation among the old herbalists of having a soothing influence on cattle, both tame and wild, if rubbed on their necks or yokes. Could this account for the name loose strife?
Darwin Was Intrigued
It seems difficult to believe that Lythrum salicaria can be any relation to the modest wild flowers that we have been describing, but the purple loosestrife belongs to the loosestrife family. When we see this exciting plant outlining a brook or taking possession of a damp meadow, we exclaim with delight. Its flowers are bright magenta or pinkish purple about half an inch broad, crowded in whorls around long bracted spikes two to three feet tall.
This beautiful plant comes to us from Europe and year by year has extended its march westward. As we watch its progress, however, we realize that it triumphantly takes all before it, so do not think that you can place and keep a clump here and there in your marsh garden or along a stream. The mystery of the plant’s fertilization by insects was given much patient study by Charles Darwin. Imagine his excitement when he wrote to Gray – “I am almost stark, staring mad over Lythrum. For the love of heaven have a look at some of your species and if you can get me some seeds, do!” The purple loosestrife is called long purples in England. It is one of the flowers mentioned in Hamlet as carried by Ophelia.
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