Monday, May 9, 2011

Purple Loosestrife:

Purple Loosestrife is an herbaceous perennial plant native to Europe, Asia, and Africa.  It was probably introduced to North America through the shipping trade.  It is an invasive species that can reduce the biological diversity of native plants which can affect the life cycles of other organisms such as waterfowl, fish, and amphibians. 

This is a colonial plant that can grow 1 to 1.5 meters tall.  Many long stems will grow out of one root mass.  The flowers are reddish purple and are 10mm to 20mm in diameter.  Purple Loosestrife reproduces extremely quickly as it produces 2 million seeds annually. 

      

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