Purple loosestrife
Lythrum salicaria
FOUND by Team Epic Quadrat2010-11-16
Augusta
ID Confirmed
Quality checked by KAPOOM
Peer reviewed by KAPOOM
Field Notes
We are happy because we found our plant and checked everything over correctly. Beware, our plant was dead so it might be hard to tell. We compared the stems on the card to our plant and they were the same. Questions and problems I ran into is, It was cold and our plant was dead. We had a hard time putting down out quadrat at first, But we found a spot eventually after we started. We saw our school and smelled the bark of the trees being decomposed as we were doing our investigation, and we heard the other students in our class doing their investigation. I am surprised that we did not find very many living creatures at our site. We were fortunate enough to find a spider.
Supporting Evidence
The stem is square and has a fuzzy feeling.
The flowers are closed and shriveled. Our plant was dead so it is hard to tell.
The stem is 3 feet tall and has little bristles like the card says.
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:
Less than 1/4 covered
Reproduction:
Flower (plants)
Sampling method:
Quadrat (user-placement)
Place Studied
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Latitude:
N 44.315550 °
Longitude:
W -69.750530 °
Observation Site Information
Habitat:
Upland - Forest
Trip Information
Name:
Cony Field
Trip date:
Tue, 2010-11-16 08:35
Town or city:
Augusta
Type of investigation:
Species and Habitat Survey
Ecosystem:
Upland
Watershed:
Lower Kennebec
Habitat Observations
Species diversity:
5 different species
Evidence of vectors:
Paved road
Dirt road
Walking trail
People
Recent disturbance
Tree canopy cover:
Open to 1/4 covered
Soil moisture:
Moist
Comments
GReat observations
It's a little difficult to tell from the photos, but it seems like you may have purple loosestrife. I like the idea of flagging the location and going back during the growing season. I've done that before and been surprised with what I found. The only other thing it could be, based on the photos, is a goldenrod of some kind. Look this up and go back to the site and let us know what you find!
Good Job
I think you guys did a good job. Nice clear photos and good information. I think that the photo with the leave in it was very well done and helped to prove your point.
Thank for the great comment
Thank for the great comment you guys did a great job too
stem???
I agree also, about looking for things in this time of year. It's hard but you got a good close shot of the withered flowers. One thing I learned about purple loosestrife is to check the stem. I tried to see the square stem in your pictures but couldn't. The stem is clearly hairy but it doesn't look square.
young entrepreneurs
You're marketing your species observations well! You can always send out the URL to people through email to get more eyes on your work! Just copy and paste.
You're right about the challenge of identifying plants in late fall. Thanks for the warning. If you can, mark the plant with a flag and check it out in June right before you leave school for summer break. It sounds like a long time from now, I know, but this plant will be growing again before you know it.
The seed spike you show in your second evidence photo doesn't look like purple loosestrife to me, but we'll wait for the expert to weigh in. I believe purple loosestrife is more like 3m tall this time of year, not 3ft.
Please Comment!
Hey it's Team Epic Quadrat! When any of you guys get the chance, please comment! We love getting comments from other Vital Signs scientists!! This is our second publish and we think we did very well on this. We put hard work and effort into this. So when you guys get the chance, please comment! :)
Thanks!
- Team Epic Quadrat