Purple Loosestrife
SAY NO! To Purple Loosestrife
- Height: 3 to 10 feet (5 foot average)
- Leaves: opposite or 3 in a whorl without teeth
- Stems: 4 angles, semi-woody at base
- Flowers: with 5 to 7 purple petals in long spikes at the ends of branches
- Flowering season: Late June to late August
Missouri Purple Loosestrife Alert!
What is Purple Loosestrife?
Flowering plants are very conspicuous and can be identified at 100 yards.
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a perennial wetland herb that grows in sunny wetlands, ditches, around farm ponds and in other disturbed habitat. It is native to Europe and was accidentally introduced into North America in the mid-1800s. Because it has no natural enemies here, it has spread aggressively into wetlands throughout the northeast and the upper Midwest. In 1963 only two wild populations of purple loosestrife were known in Missouri. However by 1985 we had over 40 wild populations.
Purple Loosestrife has showy purple spikes of flowers, making it an attractive garden flower. The use of purple loosestrife in landscape plantings and flower gardens has added to its spread in Missouri. Seven hybrids that are considered nonaggressive are now commercially available. They are: Morden Pink, The Rocket, Rose Queen, Dropmore Purple, Columbia Pink, Morden Rose and Morden Gleam.
Purple Loosestrife reproduces prolifically by cuttings and offshoots as well as by seeds. A single plant may produce up to 300,000 seeds, which are carried by wind, water and animals.
Why Is It A Problem?
Purple Loosestrife is so aggressive that it crowds out the native plants that are used by wildlife for food and shelter. Purple Loosestrife has almost no wildlife food and shelter value, and so where it invades, valuable wildlife habitat is destroyed. Once established it can destroy marshes and wet prairies and choke waterways.
Where and When to Look...
The photographs on this page show how to recognize the plant and how to distinguish it from other similar flowers. It now occurs primarily in the northeast quarter of the state, but might be found anywhere in Missouri. The brilliant purple spikes are showy from late June or early July through late August. Look for it in marshes, wet prairies, along streams, around farm ponds, and in moist fields, pastures and roadside ditches.
How to Control It...
Purple Loosestrife spreads rapidly by the very numerous seeds (up to 300,000 per plant) produced annually. For this reason it is very important to locate and eradicate the first plants to invade a wetland basin or habitat. An ounce of prevention is worth many, many pounds of cure later on.
Small infestations of up to 100 plants are best eliminated by hand pulling. Pull all or as much as possible of the root system out. If the plants are simply broken off at the soil surface, the "root crown" will sprout new stems. Pull plants early in the flowering season if possible to avoid scattering seeds in the removal process. Remove all stems from the wetland area as discarded stems will sprout and create new plants.
(1) Blue Vervain (2) Blazing Star (3) Tall Bellflower
Clusters in excess of 100 plants, up to three acres, and plants too large to pull out, are best controlled by herbicides. Currently, Loosestrife can be controlled with Roundup on terrestrial sites and Rodeo in wetlands and over water. These are U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered herbicides that should be applied by licensed herbicide applicators following label instructions.
Larger infestations are not presently controllable but may be contained in some situations by pulling and/or herbicide treatment of individual plants as they spread around the periphery of dense stands. Effective control of large infestations is dependent on future research. Present action is aimed at containing the spread of this weed.
For More Information
Or to report a population of Purple Loosestrife write:
PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE ALERT
Missouri Department of Conservation
P.O. Box 180 J
Jefferson City, MO 65102
