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Winged Loosestrife

Lythrum alatum

Other common name(s):

Wing-angle Loosestrife, Winged Lythrum

Family:

Lythraceae (Loosestrife Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Central Great Plains, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, Northern Post Oak Savanna, Northern Prairie Outliers, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Southern Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Shrub

Height

2
to
3
ft.

Spread

2
to
3
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Loam, Clay, Poor Drainage, Moist

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Medium

Native Habitat

Grassland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Pink, Purple

Bloom Season

Spring, Summer

Seasonal Interest

Nectar, Pollen

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies, Nectar Insects, Hummingbirds, Bees

Maintenance

Versatile plant that will grow in fields, wet meadows, ditches, roadsides, pond edges, streams. Because Winged Loosestrife is naturally found in wet meadows, it is a good plant for the lower slopes of rain gardens or the dry fringe. Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum) grows in a dense ball almost like a short shrub. Plant it with other late summer blooming natives. Not to be confused with the invasive Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Propagation: Seed.

Comments

Blooms May-September. Winged Loosestrife has single pale, purple flowers blooming on short stalks that arise from leaf axils. Petals have a darker purple mid-vein and resemble the texture of wrinkled tissue paper. Winged Loosestrife is beneficial to hummingbirds, long-tongued bees, green metallic bees, bee flies, butterflies, and skippers.

References

1) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=14400&locationType=County&mapType=Normal; 2) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=27081#null; 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LYAL4; 4) https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-lythrum-alatum/, 5) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Lythrum+alatum&formsubmit=Search+Terms, 6) https://www.prairiemoon.com/lythrum-alatum-winged-loosestrife, 7) https://www.blazingstargardens.com/plants/p/winged-loosestrife-lythrum-alatum

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State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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