Swamp Loosestrife

(Decodon verticillatus)

 

Color Photograph: Midwestern wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, Midwest National Technical Center.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Swamp Loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus)

Identification: Flowers lavender, with 5 narrow, elongate petals resting on top of a cuplike calyx. Stamens long, projecting far past the tips of the petals. Flowers in tight bunches in the leaf axils. Stems angulate with 4 to 6 sides. Leaves elongate, narrow, with smooth outer margins and in opposite pairs or whorls of 3 leaves. Plant 2 to 8 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout eastern North America.

Habitat: Swamp Loosestrife is found in swamps and in the shallow waters of rivers and lakes.

Flowering period: July to August.

Swamp Loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus)

Similar Species:

Swamp Loosestrife might be confused with a species of mint. However the whorls of 3 leaves and the unique flower structure should readily identify it.

Similar Species

No Similar Species