Northern Winged Loose Strife
Lythrum alatum
Found in calcareous meadows, marl fens, and disturbed wet calcareous places. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 3–4 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, grassy or flowery ground that is not wet, such as mountain meadows; wet meadows are separate.
Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 73 animals.
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Canada WarblerWilsonia canadensis
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
Who uses this plant?
13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 13
- Melanchra assimilisBlack Arches
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Agonopterix lythrella
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
- Flower color
- Purple
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Purple” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Height · “3–4 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- primary_flower_color · “purple” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “wet to moderately wet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Also known as
Winged Loosestrife
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by rhizomes. Spreads by rhizomes. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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