Lysimachia

''Lysimachia'' ( ) is a genus consisting of 182 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family was later merged into the Primulaceae.

Characteristics

''Lysimachia'' species often have yellow flowers, and grow vigorously. They tend to grow in damp conditions. Several species within ''Lysimachia'' are commonly called loosestrife, although this name is also used for plants within the genus '' Lythrum''. The genus is named in honor of Lysimachus, a king of ancient Sicily, who is said to have calmed a mad ox by feeding it a member of the genus.

''Lysimachia'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some butterflies and moths, including the dot moth, grey pug, lime-speck pug, small angle shades, and v-pug.

Specialized pollinators

Bees of the genus '' Macropis'' are specialized to pollinate oil-producing ''Lysimachia'' plants. These bees use exclusively ''Lysimachia'' floral oils for building their nests and provisioning cells. ''Lysimachia'' floral-specific chemicals are strong attractors for '' Macropis nuda'' and '' Macropis fulvipes'' bees that are seldom found in other plant genera.

Fossil record

Several fossil seeds of ''Lysimachia '' sp. have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg, Denmark. †''Lysimachia nikitinii'' seed fossils have been collected from Pliocene of south eastern Belarus. The fossils are most similar to seeds of the East Asian '' Lysimachia davurica''.The Pliocene and its correlation with other Pliocene by Felix Yu. VELICHKEVICH and Ewa ZASTAWNIAK - Acta Palaeobotanica 43(2): 137–259, 2003

Selected species

282 species are accepted. Selected species include:
*''Lysimachia arvensis'' L. – Scarlet pimpernel
*'' Lysimachia asperulifolia'' , orth. var. ''L. asperulaefolia'' – roughleaf yellow loosestrife (endemic to Atlantic coastal plain in North and South Carolina)
*'' Lysimachia atropurpurea'' L. – purple gooseneck loosestrife
*'' Lysimachia azorica'' Hornem. ex Hook. – (endemic to the Azores)
*'' Lysimachia barystachys'' Bunge – Manchurian yellow loosestrife
*'' Lysimachia ciliata'' L. – fringed loosestrife (North America)
*'' Lysimachia clethroides'' Duby – gooseneck loosestrife
* ''Lysimachia'' × ''commixta'' – a hybrid of ''L. terrestris'' and ''L. thyrsiflora''
* '' Lysimachia congestiflora''
*'' Lysimachia daphnoides'' (A.Gray) Hillebr. – ''Lehua makanoe'' (Island of Kauai in Hawaii)
*'' Lysimachia filifolia'' C.N.Forbes (Islands of Oahu and Kauai in Hawaii)
*'' Lysimachia foenum-graecum'' Hance
*'' Lysimachia fraseri'' Duby – Fraser's yellow loosestrife (Southeastern United States)
*'' Lysimachia glutinosa''
*'' Lysimachia hillebrandii'' Hook.f. ex A.Gray – ''kolokolo kuahiwi'' (Hawaii)
*'' Lysimachia hybrida'' Michx.
*'' Lysimachia iniki'' – Wailua River yellow loosestrife (endemic to Kauai, Hawaii)
*'' Lysimachia japonica''
*'' Lysimachia latifolia'' – Pacific starflower
*'' Lysimachia lichiangensis'' Forrest
*'' Lysimachia lydgatei'' – Maui yellow loosestrife (endemic to Maui, Hawaii)
*'' Lysimachia maritima''
*'' Lysimachia mauritiana''
*'' Lysimachia minoricensis'' J.J.Rodr. (Spain)
*'' Lysimachia nemorum'' L. – yellow pimpernel
*'' Lysimachia nummularia'' L. – creeping jenny, moneywort (Europe, introduced in North America)
*'' Lysimachia pendens''
* ''Lysimachia'' × ''producta'' – a hybrid of ''L. terrestris'' and ''L. quadrifolia''
*'' Lysimachia punctata'' L. – spotted loosestrife
*'' Lysimachia quadriflora'' Sims – four-flower yellow loosestrife (Eastern North America)
*'' Lysimachia quadrifolia'' L. – whorled loosestrife (Eastern North America)
*'' Lysimachia remyi'' (islands of Maui and Molokai in Hawaii)
** ''Lysimachia remyi'' subsp. ''maxima'' (Masam.) I.C.Oh & Anderb. (Molokai)
**''Lysimachia remyi'' subsp. ''remyi'' (Maui and Molokai)
*'' Lysimachia scopulensis''
*'' Lysimachia sertulata'' Baudo – Chilean melilukul
*'' Lysimachia terrestris'' (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb. – swamp candles (North America)
*'' Lysimachia thyrsiflora'' – tufted loosestrife
*'' Lysimachia venosa'' – veined yellow loosestrife (endemic to Kauai, Hawaii)
*'' Lysimachia verticillaris'' Biehler
*'' Lysimachia vulgaris'' L. – garden loosestrife, yellow loosestrife (Eurasia)

References

External links

Lysimachus' Dog & Nisaean Horses
- Informative but non-scholarly essay on Lysimachia & Lysimachus (Annotated with Sources).
*Pictures o


PAF - Lysimachia clethroides - Duby.

{{Authority control

Primulaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus