loosestrife

American  

[loos-strahyf] / ˈlusˌstraɪf /

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Lysimachia, of the primrose family, having clusters of usually yellow flowers, as L. vulgaris garden loosestrife or L. quadrifolia whorled loosestrife.

2. any of several plants belonging to the genus Lythrum, of the loosestrife family.

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loosestrife British  

/ ˈluːsˌstraɪf /

noun

1. any of various primulaceous plants of the genus Lysimachia, esp the yellow-flowered L. vulgaris ( yellow loosestrife ) See also moneywort

2. a purple-flowered lythraceous marsh plant, Lythrum salicaria

3. any of several similar or related plants, such as the primulaceous plant Naumburgia thyrsiflora ( tufted loosestrife )

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Etymology

Origin of loosestrife

1540–50; loose (v.) + strife, mistranslation of Latin lȳsimachīa (< Greek lȳsimáchei ( os ) + -a feminine noun suffix; see lysi-, -machy), plant said to be named after a certain Lysímachos; see -ia

Example Sentences

In the long poem “A Few Days,” he calls to mind a scene like a snapshot: “purple loosestrife / bloomed in swathes / that turned the railway ditch and fields into a / sunset-reflecting lake.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

A single occurrence of, say, purple loosestrife, does not an invasion make.

From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2023

However, every plant depicted, from purple loosestrife to wild roses, is the product of more than three months of painstaking observation as Millais worked on the banks of the Hogsmill River in Surrey.

From Nature • Oct. 23, 2018

Leaf-beetles can be used to as a biocontrol for invasive plants such as purple loosestrife.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

Between them and the stream itself stood half-grown clumps of purple loosestrife and fleabane, which would not flower for nearly two months yet.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams