Purple Loosestrife

Lythrum salicaria

A perennial with a woody crown and stiff, 4-sided stems. Leaves opposite or whorled, small magenta flowers with 5-7 petals on tall showy spikes.

Life Forms	Forb
Habitats	Rights of way Riparian areas
ODA Listing	B
Soil and Moisture Conditions	Moist Nutrient rich soil
Suggested Actions	Report to Oregon Invasives Hotline Use BMPs to control on private property
Shade Preference	Full sun
Mature Height	6-10'
Distribution	Found throughout the Pacific Northwest, in California and northeastern US.
Control	Small infestations can be dug up being sure to remove roots, monitor and repeat as needed.
Disposal Methods	Plant parts can resprout. Seal in plastic bags and dispose in landfill.
Reproduction and Spread	Reproduces by seed and spreads by stem fragments. One plant can produce over 2 million seeds.
Introduced	Introduced to the east coast of the US in the 1800s from Eurasia as an ornamental and in ships' ballast.
Look Alikes	spirea, checkermallow, fireweed
Impact	Can quickly adapt to environmental changes and expand its range to replace native plants that waterfowl use for ground cover, food or nesting material. Provides no cover for nesting ducks (Timmerman 1992). Recreational hunting or trapping grounds are lost, decreasing the land value of operational Wetlands.
More Info	https://www.oregon.gov/oda/shared/Documents/Publications/Weeds/PurpleLoosestrifeProfile.pdf https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weeds/purple-loosestrife