Burke: Ludwigia hexapetala vs. Ludwigia palustris

	Ludwigia hexapetala	Ludwigia palustris
	false loosestrife, water primrose	marsh primrose-willow, water purslane
Habit		Glabrous, succulent perennial, the stems prostrate, rooting at the nodes. Leaves: Leaves opposite, entire, 2-6 cm. long, the blades ovate-elliptic to obovate, tapered gradually to broad petioles nearly as long.
Leaves		Leaves opposite, entire, 2-6 cm. long, the blades ovate-elliptic to obovate, tapered gradually to broad petioles nearly as long.
Flowers		Flowers sessile in the upper leaf axils, greenish, 2 mm. long; sepals 4, ovate, persistent in fruit; petals lacking; stamens 4, opposite the sepals, the filaments very short; stigma capitate; ovary inferior, 4-celled.
Fruits		Capsule top-shaped, 2.5-4 mm. long, with 2 tiny, lateral bracteoles about half as long.

	Ludwigia hexapetala	Ludwigia palustris
Flowering time	June-August	July-September
Habitat	Swamps, lakes, and streams.	Lakes, marshes, peatlands, shores, and wet meadows.
Distribution	Scattered locations throughout Washington; along Columbia River near Portland, OR, introduced in much of North America. [WildflowerSearch map]	Occurring west of the Cascades crest and along the Columbia River in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east to Idaho, east across the southwestern U.S. and southern Great Plains to eastern North America; also occurring in New World Tropics and Eurasia. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from South America	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	L. palustris, L. peploides	L. hexapetala, L. peploides
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Ludwigia palustris

false loosestrife, water primrose

marsh primrose-willow, water purslane

Habit

Glabrous, succulent perennial, the stems prostrate, rooting at the nodes. Leaves: Leaves opposite, entire, 2-6 cm. long, the blades ovate-elliptic to obovate, tapered gradually to broad petioles nearly as long.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, entire, 2-6 cm. long, the blades ovate-elliptic to obovate, tapered gradually to broad petioles nearly as long.

Flowers

Flowers sessile in the upper leaf axils, greenish, 2 mm. long;

sepals 4, ovate, persistent in fruit;

petals lacking;

stamens 4, opposite the sepals, the filaments very short;

stigma capitate;

ovary inferior, 4-celled.

Fruits

Capsule top-shaped, 2.5-4 mm. long, with 2 tiny, lateral bracteoles about half as long.

Ludwigia hexapetala

Ludwigia palustris

Flowering time

June-August

July-September

Habitat

Swamps, lakes, and streams.

Lakes, marshes, peatlands, shores, and wet meadows.

Distribution

Scattered locations throughout Washington; along Columbia River near Portland, OR, introduced in much of North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

Occurring west of the Cascades crest and along the Columbia River in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east to Idaho, east across the southwestern U.S. and southern Great Plains to eastern North America; also occurring in New World Tropics and Eurasia.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Introduced from South America

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa

L. palustris, L. peploides

L. hexapetala, L. peploides

Web links