E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Lythrum portula (L.) D.A. Webb
European water-purslane (spatulaleaf loosestrife)
Lythraceae (Loosestrife family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Lythrum portula
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a fibrous root, often rooting at the nodes; stems prostrate to decumbent, branching at the base, 4-angled, reddish, glabrous, 5-25 cm long.

Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves opposite, fleshy, oblong to more or less egg-shaped, widest towards the tip, abruptly narrowing to the stalk, 5-10 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of single, broadly bell-shaped, unstalked, axillary flowers; hypanthium broadly bell-shaped, 1-2 mm tall; petals usually 4 or lacking, white to rose, not showy, about 1 mm long.

Fruits:
Capsules, spherical; seeds round.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

KEY TO LYTHRUM

1. Hypanthium bell-shaped to hemispheric, petals usually 4, not showy.................Lythrum portula
1. Hypanthium elongate-cylindric to conic, several times as long as thick; petals 5, 6 or lacking,usually showy.

2. Plants annual, 10-40 cm tall; lower leaves usually alternate; petals 2-3.5 mm long, white to rose...........................Lythrum hyssopifolia
2. Plants perennial, 40-200 cm tall; lower leaves usually opposite; petals 7-10 mm long, reddish-purple to purple.........................Lythrum. salicaria

Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

A fourth species of Lythrum is now recognized in BC: Lythrum alatum (winged loosestrife). This species is not included in the IFBC key, but is described by Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973) as: Main leaves 3-10 cm, not cordate; petals purple, ca 5 mm; plants 4-10 dm. View a photo.

Habitat / Range

Moist riverbanks and disturbed areas in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Peplis portula L.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-17 2:22:42 AM ]

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