Lysimachia nummularia L.
creeping loosestrife (creeping jenny)
Myrsinaceae (Myrsine family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Jamie Fenneman     (Photo ID #14151)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Lysimachia nummularia
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Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome, creeping and rooting at the nodes; stems prostrate, several, simple, smooth or nearly so, dotted with red-black spots, 20-60 cm long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves opposite, almost circular in outline to oblong- egg-shaped, 1-3 cm long, nearly as wide with short stalks.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary, axillary flowers on stalks 1-3 cm long; corollas yellow, saucer-shaped, deeply 5-lobed, the lobes 8-12 mm long, fringed with small, glandular hairs, glandular-hairy near the bases on the upper surfaces, dotted with black spots; calyces 5-lobed, the lobes heart-shaped to lanceolate, 6-9 mm long; stamens exserted, the filaments glandular-hairy, unequal, several times the length of the anthers, short-fused at the bases; sterile stamens lacking.
Fruits:
Capsules, included in the calyces, breaking into valves at dispersal.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Habitat and Range

Moist roadsides and other disturbed areas in the lowland and steppe zones; infrequent on Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley; rare in SC BC; introduced from Europe.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia