a Kingdom- Plantae Phylum-Magnoliophyta Class- Magnoliopsida

o It’s from Europe and Asia It was distributed in the northeastern USA and Canada. It was brought here in the 1800’s It was used for ornamental and medical uses. Found today in all 50 states except for Florida.

a People used Purple Loosestrife by putting it in some types of medicines. Since it was brought here to the USA for medical purposes, scientists used this plant in many medicines that we use today. There are no consequences for humans. Purple Loosestrife was used in some itching medicines

o A change that was made in the ecosystem by Lythrum Salicaria was that it became very large It affected other organisms such as native grass, sedges, and other flowering plants because Purple Loosestrife would overtake other plants.

a leaf eating beetle leaves Root-mining weevil Purple Loosestrife

o An adult Purple Loosestrife can produce up to 3 million seeds a year. Out of those 3 million seeds, 60-70% of them survive.

a Herbicides may control the growth for all Purple Loosestrifes. One trade-off is that the effect doesn’t last that long on large populations and plants that have been there for many years.

a The average height of the plant is 5 feet. Blossoms every July through September. An adult Purple Loosestrife can produce 2.5 million to 2.7 million seeds yearly.