Purple loosestrife
Lythrum salicaria
FOUND by 61jd62011-09-06
E. Waterboro
ID Questioned
Quality checked by pparent
Peer reviewed by 61od7
Field Notes
I believe that our group in our class has found a purple loosestrife plant on the massabesic middle school campus. The plant is in a fielded area almost like a swamp and the latitude is43.581684 and the longitude is -70.702464. We chose this area by a quadrat placed by our selves. The scientific name for purple loosestrife is Lythrum Salicaria. The leaves ate exactly like loosestrife because they are 6 to 10 centimeters, lance shaped, and are whorled. The stem is square shaped and has small hairs although it is not 2 meters tall I think it is still growing. There has not been any seeds found.There are no flowers on the plant. There is another purple loosestrife plant in the area that was discovered in August of 2010 so it is possible it has reproduced. That is my conclusion on the plant discovered on the MMS campus.
Supporting Evidence
The leaves on our plant are exactly like a Loosestrife plant because the leaves are 6-10 centimeters. They are also lance shaped and smooth on the edges. The leaf arrangement is whorled just like a Purple Loosestrife plant. Thew leaf type is also simple. That is my first reason why I think it is a Loosestrife plant.
Our plant is not 2 meters tall but I think that it is in the process of growing. Our plant is one foot to two feet tall. There is no flowers on the plant so it will be harder to identify. That is the second reason why I think it is a Loosestrife plant.
The stem on a Loosestrife plant stem is square,2 meters tall and has small hairs and lots of branches. Our plant is not 2 meters tall. There are hairs on our plant. Our plant has a square stem
Species Observation: Species Looked For
Did you find it?:
I think I found it
Scientific name:
Lythrum salicariaCommon name:
Purple loosestrife
Count of individuals:
1-10
Coverage:
Between 1/4 and 1/2
Reproduction:
Vegetative structures (plants)
Sampling method:
Quadrat (user-placement)
Place Studied
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Latitude:
N 43.581684 °
Longitude:
W -70.702464 °
Observation Site Information
Habitat:
Freshwater - On a wetland
Trip Information
Name:
Massabesic Middle School Pond Area 2011
Trip date:
Tue, 2011-09-06 16:29
Town or city:
E. Waterboro
Type of investigation:
Species and Habitat Survey
Ecosystem:
Upland
Watershed:
Saco
Comments
Not sure from the photos if
Not sure from the photos if this is purple loosestrife. Next time, try taking photos of just the plant of interest and possibly hold a piece of paper behind it for the photos. Also, try to get close up of some of the descriptive features like the leaves and the stem.
keep up the good work!