Skip to main content

European wand loosestrife (Lythrum virgatum)

European wand loosestrife Common Names: Wanded loosestrife

Description:

Habit: Upright, growing up to 3-4 feet tall.

Leaves: Hairless, oppositely arranged (sometimes alternately), narrowly lance-shape to linear lance-shape with tapered bases. Leaf length: 1.2 to 5.1 inches; leaf width: .1 to 1.6 inches.

Stems: Upright and 4-angled, growing up to 3-4 feet tall.

Flowers: Showy, purple to pink in color, and grow in spikes 5-10 inches long at stem ends (terminal). Each flower spike is made up of many small flowers, each with 5-6 petals.

Fruit and seeds: Seed capsules are cylindrical and up to 5 mm long. They open when mature in late July-August.

Habitat: Native to Europe and Asia. Found in home gardens, wetlands and other damp places that purple loosestrife can grow.

Reproduction: By seed and vegetatively from cut segments.

Similar species: Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) but is smaller, hairless and smooth (glabrous) with narrower leaves and flowers are mostly paired or clustered in leafy, open flower clusters (racemes).

Monitoring and rapid response: Small plants and seedlings can be dug out. Larger plants can be dug out making sure to remove all root fragments. Remove all plant parts and either burn, landfill, or bury deep in the ground. Mowing is not recommended. Galerucella beetles have been successful in many parts of the state in controlling purple loosestrife populations and are likely to affect wanded loosestrife as well.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

European wand loosestrife

Scientific Name:

Lythrum virgatum

Family:

Lythraceae
(Loosestrife)

Duration:

Perennial

Habit:

Herbs

USDA Symbol:

LYVI3