Lythraceae

California loosestrife

Lythrum californicum Torr. & A.Gray

Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Lythrum

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California loosestrife: Lythrum californicum at Point of Rocks Springs, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge , southern Nevada — Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (2)

English: California loosestrife
Japanese: アメリカミソハギ

Synonyms

Lythrum alatum var. breviflorum A.Gray
Lythrum alatum var. linearifolium A.Gray
Lythrum album var. linearifolium (A.Gray) Koehne
Lythrum breviflorum (A.Gray) S.Watson
Lythrum linearifolium (A.Gray) Small
Lythrum parvulum Nieuwl.
Lythrum sanfordii Greene

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Subshrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: native

Photos

Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jim Morefield from Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Lythrum

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.