Editorial: Beware of the lovely, invasive purple loosestrife
"As both an invasive species and a herald of unwelcome change, Purple Loosestrife is a nuisance," we argue. "But it's gorgeous nonetheless" Credit: Bill Davis
It's that time of year again: time for purple loosestrife, that gorgeous invader whose vivid color proclaims the beginning of the end for summer.
Looks, of course, are the only thing this tenacious perennial has going for it. Lythrum salicaria was introduced from Europe or Asia in the 19th century, probably for ornamental or medicinal use, but has no natural enemies here and so has spread madly across the northern United States.
It's illegal to sell purple loosestrife on Long Island now, but people used to plant it in wet places where other things wouldn't grow. For gardeners, this strategy proved a pact with the devil. A single plant can produce millions of seeds even while extending stems underground to expand its hegemony by means of new shoots. That's why, left to its own devices, this glamorous but ruthless invader tends to take over marshy areas, driving out native species.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the use of some European insects with a strong appetite for the plant. Yet it remains plentiful and, for now at least, we're stuck with it.
Purple loosestrife in this part of the country begins to flower in July, but seems to do so most extravagantly in mid to late August. Blooming loosestrife thus is a bittersweet harbinger, an early reminder that summer's idyll inevitably will give way, and that autumn, school and responsibility lay ahead.
As both an invasive species and a herald of unwelcome change, this plant is a nuisance. But it's gorgeous nonetheless.
