12/25/2023 0 Comments Yellow loosestrife![]() ![]() Other Species-Four species of Lysimachia are native in this country - the Yellow Loosestrife the Moneywort - our familiar Creeping Jenny the Yellow Pimpernel (or 'Wood Loosestrife'), which is remarkably like the Scarlet Pimpernel in general habit and in form, and the Tufted Lysimachia, a rare plant confined to the northern portions of this island.īoth the scientific and popular names o the Loosestrife have interesting origins. The Purple Loosestrife, on the other hand, is more nearly allied to the Willow herbs. ![]() The Yellow Loosestrife belongs, however, to the same family as the Primrose and the Pimpernel. There is a superficial resemblance between them, especially with regard to the leaves. The Yellow Loosestrife, which is in no way related to the Purple Loosestrife, has often been known as the Yellow Willow Herb, Herb Willow, or Willow Wort, as if it belonged to the true Willow Herbs (which are quite a different family - Onagraceae). The swaying of the stems by the wind jerks out the minute seeds. As a result of fertilization, whether self or effected by insects, the ovary develops into a rounded capsule, which when dried opens at the top by five valves. Self- fertilization also takes place in smaller, less attractive-looking flowers, sometimes found among the others. Nevertheless, the plant is visited by one particular kind of bee, Macropsis labiata, which will visit no other flower, hence where the Loosestrife does not grow the Macropsis does not seem to exist. This tube has not, as one would expect, any honey, and, in fact, there is neither honey nor scent in any part of the flower. The five stamens look quite separate, but are joined together at the bottom by a fleshy band attached to the petals, so that they seem to stand on a little glandular tube. When the flowers droop, the five-pointed calyx, whose edges are fringed with fine red hairs, are seen at the back of the petals. The flower stalks are somewhat viscid, or sticky, to the touch.Įach flower is about 3/4 inch in diameter, forming a cup of five petals, quite distinct at their tips, but joined together near the base. Each becomes a short stalk carrying a terminal flower, below which other flowers on smaller stalks arise - the ends of the main stem thus becoming covered with a mass of golden blossoms. When the leaves are in pairs, the stem is quadrangular and the angles increase as the leaves increase in number.Īt the top of the stem arise the flower-buds, in the axils of the leaves. Whatever arrangement we find in any given plant holds throughout: we do not find in the same plant some of the leaves in pairs and others in three. The undersurfaces are downy with soft, spreading hairs, especially on the veins, and the upper surfaces are marked with black dots which are glands. They are rather large and broad, 3 to 6 inches long by about 1 1/4 inches broad, oblong or lance-shaped and sharply tapering at the top. Closely set upon them are a number of nearly stalkless leaves, sometimes in pairs, sometimes three or four springing from the same spot. Description-Its stems are slightly branched and covered with a soft, fine down. ![]() It has a creeping root, which persists year after year, and every spring throws up afresh the tall, golden-topped stems, whose flowers are at their best in July and August. The Yellow Loosestrife is a tall, handsome plant, from 2 to 3 or even 4 feet high, found as a rule on shady banks or crowning the herbage of the stream-side vegetation. Medicinal Action and Uses -Synonyms-Yellow Willow Herb.Loosetrife, Yellow Botanical: Lysimachia vulgaris (LINN.) ![]()
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