Lythrum californicum
Encyclopedia
Lythrum californicum is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family
known by the common name California loosestrife. It is native to northern Mexico
and the southwestern United States
into the Midwest as far east as Oklahoma
and Texas
. It often grows in moist habitat. This is an erect perennial herb reaching 20 to 60 cm (7.9 to 23.6 in) tall, sometimes branching. The waxy linear to lance-shaped leaves are arranged oppositely lower on the plant, and alternately toward the top. They are 1 to 7 cm (0.393700787401575 to 2.8 in) in length. The inflorescence
is a terminal spike of flowers with purple petals under a centimeter long. Flowers are heterostylous on one individual plant, with some having long, protruding styles
and some with shorter styles not protruding from the mouth of the flower. The fruit is an oval capsule containing many minute seeds.
This plant resembles its relative, the notorious noxious weed purple loosestrife; California loosestrife is usually not weedy.
Lythraceae
Lythraceae are a family of flowering plants. It includes about 620 species of mostly herbs, with some shrubs and trees, in 31 genera. Major genera include Cuphea , Lagerstroemia , Nesaea , Rotala , and Lythrum...
known by the common name California loosestrife. It is native to northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
into the Midwest as far east as Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It often grows in moist habitat. This is an erect perennial herb reaching 20 to 60 cm (7.9 to 23.6 in) tall, sometimes branching. The waxy linear to lance-shaped leaves are arranged oppositely lower on the plant, and alternately toward the top. They are 1 to 7 cm (0.393700787401575 to 2.8 in) in length. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a terminal spike of flowers with purple petals under a centimeter long. Flowers are heterostylous on one individual plant, with some having long, protruding styles
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
and some with shorter styles not protruding from the mouth of the flower. The fruit is an oval capsule containing many minute seeds.
This plant resembles its relative, the notorious noxious weed purple loosestrife; California loosestrife is usually not weedy.