Family Index

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Scientific Name

Lythrum salicaria

Family Name

LYTHRACEAE

Common Name

Purple Loosestrife

Status

Vulnerable

Height

50-100cm

Flowers

Flowers are tubular, deep pink to purple with 5 or 6 petals, and borne in spikes.

Fruit

Capsule

Form

Erect perennial herb with a stout aerial stem, and lance-shaped, opposite, stalkless leaves.

Municipalities

Break O'Day; Dorset; Georgetown; Kentish; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; West Tamar

Communities

Habitat Notes

Swamps, streambanks and rivers in the North and North East, and between gaps in Melaleuca ericifolia forest.

Site Tolerance

Frost Tolerance

Soil Tolerance

General Notes

Propagation is by root division, by seed using the bog method (this species often self-sows in open ground), or cuttings can be taken from non-flowering laterals in the middle of summer and struck outdoors in shade. Often self-seeds. Can reproduce vegetatively and may be bird dispersed. An easy garden plant which thrives in any soil, and forms a bushy and well-shaped clump. Cut back to ground level in winter. Suitable below powerlines.

Propagation Details

Propagation Calendar

Flowering Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Collecting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sowing Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Cutting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Information

Seed Collection

Seed Treatment Method

Bog method

Seed Storage Life

Viable Seeds Per Gram

Seed Treatment Notes

Germination Time

Suitable for Direct Seeding

Cuttings

Expected Time to Take Root

Expected Time to Plant Out

Propagation by Division N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.

Yes

Cutting Notes