Flora of North America species comparison

Reports of Lysimachia lanceolata from Connecticut and Maine were based on specimens of L. hybrida initially identified as L. lanceolata subsp. hybrida.

V. J. Coffey and S. B. Jones (1980), using garden studies, concluded that this species differed from the similar Lysimachia hybrida in some features, mostly dealing with leaf shape and amount of marginal cilia. Herbarium specimens examined by me showed much more overlap in these characters; clearly these two species need further work. Coffey and Jones also reported, interestingly, that L. lanceolata was less susceptible to aphid infestation than L. hybrida.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Glaux Linnaeus; Naumburgia Moench; Steironema Rafinesque

Species ca. 160 (20 in the flora).

H. Handel-Mazzetti (1928), and later J. D. Ray (1956), divided Lysimachia into five subgenera, primarily distinguished on such characters as flower color, number of floral parts, presence/absence of staminodes, inflorescence type, etc. They also indicated that vegetative characters exhibit much variability and transitional traits (particularly in subg. Seleucia: L. ciliata, L. hybrida, L. lanceolata, L. quadriflora, L. radicans, L. tonsa). Ray recognized L. hybrida to be a subspecies of L. lanceolata and treated L. graminea as a narrow-leaved form within L. lanceolata. V. J. Coffey and S. B. Jones (1980) and most recent floras resegregate those species. Additionally, hybrids are also known to occur between some of the species (especially L. quadrifolia, L. terrestris, and L. thyrsiflora), have become well established in some areas, and contribute to taxonomic confusion. As a result, regionally, species may appear quite distinct, but in the flora as a whole, there is a blurring of some species boundaries.

Basal leaves often exhibit different states than medial and distal cauline leaves (e.g., larger blades, longer petioles, etc.). Descriptions of leaves here are based on medial and distal leaves only. Some species are described as having ciliate margins on the petiole or blade base. Petiole “cilia” frequently are actually thickened flaps of tissue, sometimes with widened bases. Flowers are pedicellate, and subtended by bracts or leaves or various transitional forms, which lead to inflorescence transitions, from solitary flowers in axils of leaves to leafy “panicles” to dense racemes. Occasionally, solitary flowers axillary to whorled leaves appear clustered, and have been referred to (as here) as verticils. Most species have a relatively short or long staminal tube. Some (subg. Seleucia) have a series of staminodes alternating, and forming a single whorl, with the fertile stamens. These staminodes are rather short and more or less lanceolate; in Lysimachia thyrsiflora, small teeth are sometimes produced on the staminal tube, perhaps vestiges of staminodes. For a more comprehensive discussion of the morphology, see J. D. Ray (1956). Clearly, more work is needed to understand the species relationships, especially in light of recent research that indicates close affinities among the species of Lysimachia and Trientalis and some Anagallis (see A. A. Anderberg et al. 2007 for further discussion).

Some species are choice ornamentals (e.g., Lysimachia ciliata, L. clethroides, L. nummularia, and L. punctata); L. clethroides and L. nummularia can become overly aggressive and even invasive.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)