Lythrum portula (L.) D.A. Webb
Detail
- Family
- Lythraceae
- Botanical Name
- Lythrum portula (L.) D.A. Webb
- Common Name
- Spatula-leaf Loosestrife
- Synonym(s)
- Flora of Virginia Name/Status
- Not in Flora of North America; discovered after its publication.
- Comments
- This small, creeping loosestrife was discovered by Anne Parker in Northumberland County in July 2025. A native of Europe and western Asia, the species has long been established in the Pacific states of North America, with a few eastern records from Ohio, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Whether the Virginia population is a random, accidental occurrence or part of a wider but largely undetected eastern distribution is not clear, but the species is abundant and well established at the Northumberland site.
- Habitat
- In recently drawn-down, muddy areas of a restored wetland located in a former agricultural field. Multiple patches containing an estimated 4,000 plants were documented. Further research indicated that the species was not part of the seed mix used in the restoration, although it could have possibly been a contaminant. Associated "draw-down" forbs that were also not part of the seed mix included Ludwigia palustris, Hypericum mutilum, Lindernia anagallidea, and Alisma subcordatum.
- Native Status
- Introduced
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