Scientific Name: Lythrum hyssopifolia. 'Hyssopifolia' means 'hyssop like leaves'.
English Name: Grass-poly; Hyssop Loosestrife (Loosestrife family).
French Name: Lythrum à feuilles d'hyssope (='hyssop-leaved loosestrife').
5 Key Characters:
- upright, up to 60 cm tall.
- narrow oval leaves (3 cm long).
- 5-6 petalled single pink flowers (5 mm across) in leaf axils.
Lookalikes: Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare, which has 2-3 flowers in each leaf axil.
Habitat: Marshland, damp fields, ditches. Disturbed ground which is wet in winter and dry in spring, often grows in wheel ruts in arable fields and similar microhabitats.
Flowering Period: May-June-July-August-September.
Status: Never abundant and now rare. Threatened by modern agricultural drainage of fields and by herbicides.
Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
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