purple loosestrife
noun
an Old World plant, Lythrum salicaria, of the loosestrife family, widely naturalized in North America, growing in wet places and having spikes of reddish-purple flowers.
Origin of purple loosestrife
1First recorded in 1540–50
Words Nearby purple loosestrife
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use purple loosestrife in a sentence
But in both these passages the plant intended is the Lythrum salicaria, or purple loosestrife.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare | Henry Nicholson EllacombeIt will eat almost any sort of Galium; also willow herb (Epilobium), and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).
The Moths of the British Isles, First Series | Richard Southpurple loosestrife, Lythrum Salicaria, belongs to a different family, Lythraceae.
Browse