Purple Loosestrife - Purple Menace
By Kathy Mohney
Executive Assistant
Allegheny National Forest
“Look at the pretty pink flowers,” exclaimed my son. “Ooh, mommy, look!” We were traveling on U. S. 6 east of Sheffield, heading for Kane. We had just passed the wetlands on the south side of road, ablaze with pink/purple flowers of loosestrife. I stopped the truck so we could admire the beauty. The flowers were pretty. But, I knew the dangers behind the beauty.
Escaped from cultivation, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) readily invades wetlands and wet areas. It reproduces so readily that native flowers and wetland plants cannot compete against the aggressive loosestrife. The loosestrife continues to grow and dominate a wetland to the point where native flowers, grasses, sedges, reeds, and bushes die; then our native animals have no place to live. Wildlife loses a high quality source of nutrition (food) when native plants die. Purple loosestrife continues to grow and form such a thick mat that salamanders, waterfowl, muskrats, endangered orchids, mice, and insects cannot live in it. Animals lose the habitat they evolved with when wetland plants disappear.
Where did the purple menace come from? Purple loosestrife is native to Europe. Nature works on a system of checks and balances. In Europe, several insects native to Europe feed on the purple loosestrife and keep it in balance with other plants. But, once purple loosestrife found its way to America, the checks and balances were not here, and loosestrife took over wetlands. Purple loosestrife was a contaminant in ship ballast (water in ship’s holds for balance and stability), in livestock feed, and imported as a medicinal herb to treat dysentery and stop bleeding. By the early 1800’s purple loosestrife was well established in New England. Construction of canals for water transport of supplies for society then allowed purple loosestrife to spread to inland waters. Purple loosestrife is now found in every state except Florida. Loosestrife has been particularly troublesome in the Great Lakes states because it has destroyed many wetlands.
Purple loosestrife is on Pennsylvania’s noxious weed control list. This means it is illegal in Pennsylvania to sell, transport, plant, or grow purple loosestrife within the Commonwealth.
How to control the purple menace? Pulling by the root, burning, and clipping the flower stem are NOT effective techniques for long term control because of the tenacity of purple loosestrife; these techniques only work for yearly control. One purple loosestrife plant can have up to thirty flowering stems, each stem capable of producing two to three million seeds per year. Loosestrife can also reproduce vegetatively with underground stems that spread a foot a year. Loosestrife can also cross breed with native Lythrum plants. Scientists feel that biological control is the ONLY way to effectively control large infestations of purple loosestrife. Small infestations can be controlled with a herbicide, such as Roundup, or when near water, the herbicide Accord or Rodeo. To date, three insects, a weevil and two beetles, have been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for biological control and have been released in 16 states in the northern part of the U.S.
How can YOU help control the spread of the purple menace? Purple loosestrife blooms in July-September and the showy display of pink/purple flowers on stalks cannot be missed. If you are lucky enough to have a small wetland on your property, inspect it at least every two weeks during the period of July to September and use an effective control technique as soon as it is discovered. Do not think you can ‘wait until next year’ because next year control will take three times as much effort. Control purple loosestrife as soon as it arrives on your land and you, your wetland, and the wildlife using the wetland will all benefit.
Executive Assistant
Allegheny National Forest
“Look at the pretty pink flowers,” exclaimed my son. “Ooh, mommy, look!” We were traveling on U. S. 6 east of Sheffield, heading for Kane. We had just passed the wetlands on the south side of road, ablaze with pink/purple flowers of loosestrife. I stopped the truck so we could admire the beauty. The flowers were pretty. But, I knew the dangers behind the beauty.Escaped from cultivation, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) readily invades wetlands and wet areas. It reproduces so readily that native flowers and wetland plants cannot compete against the aggressive loosestrife. The loosestrife continues to grow and dominate a wetland to the point where native flowers, grasses, sedges, reeds, and bushes die; then our native animals have no place to live. Wildlife loses a high quality source of nutrition (food) when native plants die. Purple loosestrife continues to grow and form such a thick mat that salamanders, waterfowl, muskrats, endangered orchids, mice, and insects cannot live in it. Animals lose the habitat they evolved with when wetland plants disappear.
Where did the purple menace come from? Purple loosestrife is native to Europe. Nature works on a system of checks and balances. In Europe, several insects native to Europe feed on the purple loosestrife and keep it in balance with other plants. But, once purple loosestrife found its way to America, the checks and balances were not here, and loosestrife took over wetlands. Purple loosestrife was a contaminant in ship ballast (water in ship’s holds for balance and stability), in livestock feed, and imported as a medicinal herb to treat dysentery and stop bleeding. By the early 1800’s purple loosestrife was well established in New England. Construction of canals for water transport of supplies for society then allowed purple loosestrife to spread to inland waters. Purple loosestrife is now found in every state except Florida. Loosestrife has been particularly troublesome in the Great Lakes states because it has destroyed many wetlands.
Purple loosestrife is on Pennsylvania’s noxious weed control list. This means it is illegal in Pennsylvania to sell, transport, plant, or grow purple loosestrife within the Commonwealth.
How to control the purple menace? Pulling by the root, burning, and clipping the flower stem are NOT effective techniques for long term control because of the tenacity of purple loosestrife; these techniques only work for yearly control. One purple loosestrife plant can have up to thirty flowering stems, each stem capable of producing two to three million seeds per year. Loosestrife can also reproduce vegetatively with underground stems that spread a foot a year. Loosestrife can also cross breed with native Lythrum plants. Scientists feel that biological control is the ONLY way to effectively control large infestations of purple loosestrife. Small infestations can be controlled with a herbicide, such as Roundup, or when near water, the herbicide Accord or Rodeo. To date, three insects, a weevil and two beetles, have been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for biological control and have been released in 16 states in the northern part of the U.S.
How can YOU help control the spread of the purple menace? Purple loosestrife blooms in July-September and the showy display of pink/purple flowers on stalks cannot be missed. If you are lucky enough to have a small wetland on your property, inspect it at least every two weeks during the period of July to September and use an effective control technique as soon as it is discovered. Do not think you can ‘wait until next year’ because next year control will take three times as much effort. Control purple loosestrife as soon as it arrives on your land and you, your wetland, and the wildlife using the wetland will all benefit.
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