purple loosestrife

American  

noun

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of purple loosestrife

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

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

“It started out with purple loosestrife and then phragmites that has been an ongoing cycle of spray and burn.”

From Washington Times • Mar. 5, 2017

Examples include the introduction of Caulerpa taxifolia into the Mediterranean, the introduction of oat species into the California grasslands, and the introduction of privet, kudzu, and purple loosestrife to North America.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

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