Decodon verticillatus - (image 1 of 4)
Taxonomy
Family: Lythraceae
Habitat
Marshes, swamps, bogs.
Associates
Distribution
Nova Scotia and Quebec, west to MN, south to FL and LA, and in the Mississippi valley to IN and MO.
Morphology
Small shrub, woody below, with slender stems to 3 m, often arching and rooting at the tip. Leaves dark green, whorled to opposite, petiolate, lanceolate. Flowers axillary in dense cymes; petals 5, narrow, bright magenta-purple.
Notes
Flowers late July to September
Wetland Indicator: Obligate
The plants with glabrous pedicels and leaves, as shown here, are var. laevigatus and occur mostly inland as far south as eastern TN. A variety with pedicels and lower leaf surfaces tomentulose, var. verticillatus, occurs along the Atlantic coast.
References
Gleason, Henry A.
and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Swink, F. and G.
Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
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Michael Hough © 2009 |