Decodon verticillatus
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Photo courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Decodon verticillatus |
| Common name: | Swamp loosestrife or water willow |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Lythraceae (Loosestrife) |
| Growth type: | Shrub, sub-shrub |
| Duration: | Perennial, but woody stems die back over winter. |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | 2 - 8' |
| Foliage: | Stems
are 3' to 9' long,
wand-like, arching downward, rooting into the ground where they they
touch the water or mud. The base of the stems, growing in water or wet
sphagnum, are often covered with a leathery or corky growth. Leaves lanceolate, nearly sessile (without a stalk), and the bark of the submersed part of the stem is spongy-thickened. |
| Flower: | pink, 1/2" |
| Flowering time: | Flowers early August to early September. Fruits early September into October. |
| Habitat: | Open shallow water, lakes, ponds, marshes and bogs. A wetland obligate species. |
| Range in New Jersey: | statewide |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | Note that this is not the invasive
species, purple loosestrife (Lythrum
salicaria). |