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Lythrum

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{automatic taxobox

|image = LythrumSalicaria-flowers-1mb.jpg

|image_caption = Lythrum salicaria

|taxon = Lythrum

|authority = L.[http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=LYTHRU Lythrum In: Species Plantarum 1: 446 (1753).] APNI, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Accessed 26 February 2010.

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision = See text

|synonyms = Peplis L.

Salicaria Mill.{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?7083 |title=Genus: Lythrum L. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=1998-04-28 |accessdate=2011-02-19}}

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Lythrum is a genus of 38 species of flowering plants native to the temperate world. Commonly known as loosestrife (a name they share with Lysimachia, which are not closely related), they are among 32 genera of the family Lythraceae.{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|page=1136}}

Description

They are herbaceous annuals or perennials. Typically they have square stems, narrow stalkless leaves, and spikes of star-shaped flowers in shades of purple, pink and white. They are especially associated with boggy areas, river banks and ponds, though in cultivation they often tolerate drier conditions. The species L. salicaria (purple loosestrife) and L. virgatum are found in cultivation.

Selected species

Species include:[http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=LYTHR Lythrum L.] USDA PLANTS.Common name for L. junceum {{ cite web |url=https://secure.derby.gov.uk/flora/Flora.aspx?SpeciesID=1063 |title=Lythrum junceum (false grass-poly) |work=Flora of Derbyshire|date=February 15, 2007 |publisher=Derby City Council and Derbyshire Flora Committee |accessdate=February 26, 2010}}Common name for L. wilsonii {{ cite web |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/pdfs/innamincka_rr_family.pdf |title=Innamincka Regional Reserve - Flora Species List (By Family) |publisher=National Parks and Wildlife South Australia, Department for Environment and Heritage |accessdate=February 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025110323/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/pdfs/INNAMINCKA_RR_FAMILY.PDF |archivedate=October 25, 2009 }}

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Morphology

Some species of Lythrum are heterostylous, such as the tristylous (occurring in three forms) L. salicaria.{{ cite journal |author=Eckert, C. G.|title=Frequency-dependent selection on morph ratios in tristylous Lythrum salicaria (Lythraceae) |journal=Heredity |year=1996 |volume=77 |issue=6 |pages=581–88 |doi=10.1038/hdy.1996.185 |s2cid=23567206 |url=http://labs.eeb.utoronto.ca/BarrettLab/pdf/SChB_140.pdf|display-authors=etal|doi-access=free |bibcode=1996Hered..77..581E }}

Ecology

Lythrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the small emperor moth, the engrailed, the Hebrew character, and the V-pug.

As a noxious weed in the United States

The genus Lythrum is listed as a noxious weed in Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.{{cite web |url=https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=lyal4 |title= Plants Profile for Lythrum alatum (winged lythrum) |website= plants.usda.gov |access-date= 31 January 2018 |author=}}

Fossil record

So far the oldest evidence of Lythrum is fossil pollen from the early Campanian, 82–81 Ma of Wyoming.Graham, Shirley A. “Fossil Records in the Lythraceae.” Botanical Review, vol. 79, no. 1, 2013, pp. 48–145., www.jstor.org/stable/41809868. Accessed 20 Sept. 2020.

References

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Category:Lythraceae genera

{{Myrtales-stub}}