Lysimachia terrestris

Lysimachia terrestris (swamp candles, lake loosestrife[2] or earth loosestrife) is a plant[3] in the family Primulaceae.

Lysimachia terrestris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Lysimachia
Species:
L. terrestris
Binomial name
Lysimachia terrestris
(L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
Synonyms[1]
  • Lysimachia stricta Aiton
  • Viscum terrestre L.

Description

Lysimachia terrestris is a herbaceous plant with opposite, simple leaves, and erect stems. The flowers are produced in a raceme, 10–30 cm (4–12 in) long, at the top of the plant.[4] The flowers are star-shaped with five yellow petals, and appear in mid-summer. Each petal has two red dots at its base forming a circle of ten red dots in the center of the flower. Late in the summer, reddish bulblets form in the leaf axils. They resemble caterpillars and may be mistaken for fruit.

Ecology and distribution

Lysimachia terrestris grows in swamps and at the edges of ponds and lakes in the Eastern United States and in Eastern Canada. It is also found in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and in British Columbia.[4] It is listed as endangered in Tennessee and Kentucky.

A major pest is Monostegia abdominalis, a sawfly whose larvae can completely skeletonize the leaves.

Gallery
  • Larvae of Monostegia abdominalis
    Larvae of Monostegia abdominalis
  • Leaves skeletonized by larvae
    Leaves skeletonized by larvae
  • Example of red axillary bulblets, observed in late September
    Example of red axillary bulblets, observed in late September

References
  1. "Lysimachia terrestris". The Plant List: a Working List of All Plant Species. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. Harry C. Lund (1999). Michigan Wildflowers in Color. Holt, MI: Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 978-1-88237-656-8.
  4. Cholewa, Anita F. (2009). "Lysimachia terrestris". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 8. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.


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