Dotted Loosestrife

[mrs fish]

Yellow or dotted they are the same plant

[AlanS]

Dotted Loosestrife establishes on damp ditchsides, spreading vegetatively, so it is a frequent escape in some areas.

There is a point of view, though, that true L. punctata is rare here, and what we usually see (including the images cited in above posts) is the related L. verticillaris. Others consider them the same species anyway. So far I have seen only L. verticillaris, so cannot form a personal opinion, though the paper that separates them is quite convincing.

(Not sure where my copy of the paper is, so I am not going to discuss differences right now.)

Alan

[aeshna5]

Dotted, Lysimachia punctata, + Yellow Loosestrifes, L. vulgaris are totally different plants, though flower colour is similar in both.

Former is a non-native but popular in gardens + grows well away from water; latter is native waterside plant which is much more branched in structure (Dotted relatively unbranched).

Petals of Dotted are fringed with hairs (absent on Yellow) + sepal teeth all green (orangey edges to teeth in Common). They are very different looking plants when seen side by side!

[mrs fish]

Ah so we have been calling our yellow the wrong name, it is dotted,

here is yellow and it is quite different
Species - Photograph

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

Ah so we have been calling our yellow the wrong name, it is dotted,

us too

[AlanS]

Originally Posted by AlanS

Dotted Loosestrife establishes on damp ditchsides, spreading vegetatively, so it is a frequent escape in some areas.

There is a point of view, though, that true L. punctata is rare here, and what we usually see (including the images cited in above posts) is the related L. verticillaris. Others consider them the same species anyway. So far I have seen only L. verticillaris, so cannot form a personal opinion, though the paper that separates them is quite convincing.

(Not sure where my copy of the paper is, so I am not going to discuss differences right now.)

Alan

OK, I have found the paper (by Hugh McAllister, published in Watsonia in 1999) and I see my memory is somewhat faulty. Apologies.

The original image in this thread, Black's photograph, http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...osestrife1.jpg,shows a plant that has an orange flush at the base of the petals and a rather slender (smaller-leaved) flowering spike. This is L. verticillaris, which is the rarer species.

The later image cited by Mrs Fish, Lysimachia punctata, does seem to be true L. punctata, with petals merely pale at the base and with a more solid flowering spike with larger bracts ("leaves"). This is probably the more common Dotted Loosestrife, despite what I wrote above. This is the one that forms large clumps, spreading vegetatively.

Glad to see that the distinction between our native Yellow Loosestrife and these introduced Dotted Loosestrifes has already been given by others.

Alan

[wetlands_wedge]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

Ah so we have been calling our yellow the wrong name, it is dotted,

here is yellow and it is quite different
Species - Photograph

Hiya!
Same here! Thanks for the info ... cannot wait to see mums' face at the weekend when I visit! I will have to 'print screen' these posts though!

[juliejam]

Found my first Dotted Loosestrife just last month , growing under a wild dogrose, caught my eye as a bright yellow flash.