Yellow Loosestrife

Lysimachia vulgaris

Yellow Loosestrife is a bright yellow flower that grows in wet places. It has tall stems and many small flowers that look like little stars. This flower is loved by bees and butterflies!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Yellow Loosestrife is a tall, upright plant featuring bright golden-yellow, star-shaped flowers clustered in leafy spikes at the top of its stems. Its lance-shaped leaves grow in distinct whorls of three or four, making it stand out in marshy areas.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassMagnoliopsidaOrderEricalesFamilyPrimulaceaeGenusLysimachia

Yellow Loosestrife

Interesting facts

It can form huge, dense colonies by spreading its roots underground!

Its name 'loosestrife' might come from an old belief it could calm animals.

Some special bees visit its flowers to collect a unique oil, not just nectar!

The plant was historically burned, as people believed its smoke warded off insects.

Special abilities

Yellow Loosestrife can spread rapidly using underground rhizomes that help it form dense colonies and colonize new ground.

Yellow Loosestrife has roots adapted to thrive in waterlogged or boggy soils, helping it survive in wet habitats.

Yellow Loosestrife has special flowers that produce oil bodies, which attract unique oil-collecting bees for pollination.

Measurements & details

Height: 30-150 cm
Spread: 30-60 cm
Flower Size: 1-2 cm
Bloom Season: Summer
Edible: No
Toxicity: Mild
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Insect

Ecological connections

pollinates

European Oil-collecting Bee

Macropis europaea

Collects floral oils

pollinates

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

Bombus terrestris

Feeds on nectar

eats

Water-lily Leaf Beetle

Galerucella tenella

Feeds on leaves

shelters

Common Frog

Rana temporaria

Hides in dense foliage

Traits

Flowering

Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.

Cluster Flower

Cluster flowers are inflorescences where individual flowers are arranged closely together on a common stem.

Summer Blooming

Summer blooming plants produce their flowers during the summer season, often providing vibrant color when many other plants have finished.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.