Some similarities to : Some Woundworts, but the flowers are open and six-petalled. Also superficial resemblance to Butterfly Bush

Distinguishing Feature :

No relation to : Yellow Loosestrife, Dotted Loosestrife, Fringed Loosestrife, Whorled Loosestrife, Tufted Loosestrife or Lake Loosestrife which all belong to the Primrose Family whereas Purple Loosestrife belongs to the Loosestrife Family. Confusing? Yes. Obtuse too.

The text-books say that the stems are square, but in some of these photographs they look hexagonal in places, and round in others. Maybe the text-books are averaging 'hexagonal' and 'round' to arrive at 'square'? If they were square, then why are the leaves sometimes in triplets, as the text-book says? Does one side in four lose out to a leaf?

From a distance, a drift of Purple loosestrife can be mistaken for Rosebay Willowherb. In some parts of the World, wetland areas of North America and New Zealand for instance, Purple Loosestrife is an invasive species and subject to control measures. Left to its own devices it will readily spread.

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