winged loosestrife

(Lythrum alatum var. alatum)

Conservation Status
winged loosestrife
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

OBL - Obligate wetland

     
  Midwest

OBL - Obligate wetland

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

OBL - Obligate wetland

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Winged loosestrife is a 1 to 4 tall, erect, perennial forb rising from a taproot with rhizomes.

The stems are 4-angled and hairless with wand-like, straight, slender, and erect branches. The stem angles are slightly winged, which gives this plant its common name.

The leaves are thick, rigid, hairless, and untoothed. They are attached to the stem without leaf stalks, and are longer than the length of stem between the leaf’s base and that of the next leaf on the stem (internode). The lower leaves, those below the branches, are up to 4 long and 2 wide, becoming smaller as they ascend the stem. They are lance-shaped to egg-shaped, broadest below the middle or near the base, and taper to the tip. The lowest of them are opposite, the rest alternate. The upper leaves, those on the branches, are alternate, crowded, much smaller and proportionately narrower.

The inflorescence is composed of usually solitary but sometimes paired flowers rising from most of the the upper leaf axils.

The flowers are ¼ to ½ wide. The 6 petals are pinkish-purple with a purple midvein. There are usually 6, always less than 10, stamens per flower.

The sepals are fused for most of their length with each other and the petals into a to ¼ long, slender, hairless tube (hypanthium) with 12 narrow but sharp wings. The sepal lobes alternate with very narrow appendages that are twice as long as the sepal lobes.

The fruit is a capsule.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

1 to 4

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Pinkish-purple with a purple midvein

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an introduced, invasive plant, has stems that are usually hairy, especially near the top. The inflorescence is a dense, 6 to 14 long, spike-like cluster of numerous flowers at the end of the stem. The flowers are larger, ½ to 1 across. There are always at least 10, usually 12, stamens.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Wet to moist. Prairies, meadows, shores, shallows. Full sun to partial shade.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

July to September

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30.

 
  7/23/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Myrtales (myrtles, evening primroses, and allies)  
 

Family

Lythraceae (lythrum)  
  Genus Lythrum (lythrum loosestrifes)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Lythrum dacotanum

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

winged loosestrife

winged lythrum

wing-angled loosestrife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Axil

The upper angle where the leaf stalk meets the stem.

 

Hypanthium

A cuplike tubular structure of a flower formed from the fused bases of sepals, petals, and stamens, that surrounds the pistil. Its presence is diagnostic of many families, including Rose, Gooseberry, and Pea.

 

Internode

The portion of a stem between nodes.

 

Node

The small swelling of the stem from which one or more leaves, branches, or buds originate.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 
 
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Plant

 
    winged loosestrife   winged loosestrife  
           
    winged loosestrife      
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    winged loosestrife   winged loosestrife  
           
 

Flower

 
    winged loosestrife   winged loosestrife  
           
    winged loosestrife   winged loosestrife  
           
    winged loosestrife      
           
 

Leaves

 
    winged loosestrife      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Lythrum alatum WINGED LOOSESTRIFE
Frank Mayfield
 
  Lythrum alatum WINGED LOOSESTRIFE  

 

slideshow

       
 
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