Thursday, August 15, 2013

Purple Loosestrife in bloom


Photo by Barry Wallace
It's that time of year.   The time when Purple Loosestrife, or what's left of it in King Township, bursts into bloom.   The photo above was taken this week on Pumphouse Road in the Holland Marsh.   Patches of it can be found here and there throughout King Township but not in the quantities seen a few years ago.   The spread of this invasive plant species has been checked in recent years by loosestrife-eating beetles imported from Europe.   Continuous monitoring has to be maintained but the problem has been largely contained.   As a result, local plant species and water habitats have been returning to former health.   Too bad something so pretty has to be so invasive and damaging.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace 

1 comment:

  1. We saw a fairly large field of this driving back from Boston at a small manufacturing plant. I was struck by the colour. It rivaled any field of lavender.

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