Florida Loosestrife
Lythrum flagellare
Found in prairies and grasslands; floodplain and bottomland forests; freshwater marshes; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 24%
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 14 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 147 animals.
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Lythrum
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Actias lunaLuna Moth
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Callosamia anguliferaTulip-Tree Silkmoth
- Callosamia prometheaPromethea Silkmoth, Promethea Moth
- Citheronia regalisRoyal Walnut Moth, Hickory Horned Devil
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
Show all 11
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
25BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Lythrum
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lythrum
- Coturnicops noveboracensisYellow Rail
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Lythraceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications