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Pest of the Month -- May
Purple Loosestrife
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Purple loosestrife was first introduced into the eastern United States at least 200 years ago, probably as seeds in ship ballast. It is a popular garden plant; from gardens it has spread to our wetlands, lakes, and rivers. Purple loosestrife was found in Kentucky in 2002. Purple loosestrife grows in habitats that are wet for at least part of the year--roadside ditches, marshes, etc. Invasion usually begins with a few pioneering plants that build up a large seed bank in the soil. Mature plants can produce more than two million seeds a year.
When the right disturbance occurs, loosestrife spreads rapidly, eventually overrunning thousands of acres of wetlands, often eliminating the open water habitat. As purple loosestrife spreads throughout a wetland, food plants that supported a variety of aquatic organisms disappear and wildlife habitat is degraded. Rare plants and animals are often the first species to disappear. Source: Invasive Exotic Plants of Canada Fact Sheet No. 4 , Erich Haber, National Botanical Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada |
 USDA APHIS - Oxford, North Carolina Archives, www.invasive.org |
Purple loosestrife photo credit: Norman E. Rees, USDA ARS, www.forestryimages.org
Original document: 14 December 2005
Last updated: 14 December 2005
This site was created and is maintained by Pat Dillon, Department of Entomology,
University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Ctr North, Lexington, KY USA
40546-0091 (phone: ).
Please send questions or suggestions to: pdillon@...
Please send questions or suggestions to: pdillon@...