Invasive purple loosestrife is blooming and spreading everywhere this week
iNaturalist Community
Invasive Species
If you live near a marsh, pond, or ditch, this tall pink-flowered plant can quietly take over the wetland and crowd out the native sedges and cattails that local frogs and birds depend on.
Purple loosestrife is a pretty plant with spikes of pink-purple flowers, but it's a bully in wetlands, spreading fast and pushing out the native plants that fish, birds, and insects rely on. This week nearly 750 people logged sightings of it on iNaturalist, which means it's in full bloom and easy to spot right now. If you find it near water on your property, pulling it before it seeds (or reporting it to local invasive species groups) can help protect the wetland.
Key Findings
750 research-grade observations of Lythrum salicaria were logged this week, making it one of the most-observed species on iNaturalist
High observation volume coincides with the plant's peak summer flowering period, which makes it more visible to citizen scientists
Purple loosestrife is a regulated invasive species in many U.S. states and Canadian provinces due to its ability to outcompete native wetland vegetation
chevron_right Technical Summary
Purple loosestrife, an aggressive invasive wetland plant, is showing up in huge numbers on iNaturalist this week, with 750 verified sightings signaling it's actively flowering and spreading across many regions right now.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) — 750 observations this week
purple loosestrife is among the most observed plant species this week with 750 research-grade observations.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Lythrum salicaria or purple-loosestrife is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the genus Lysimachia in the family Primulaceae. This herbaceous perennial plant is native to temperate regi...