Lythrum hyssopifolia

Hyssop loosestrife

Family: Lythraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Hyssop loosestrife is a naturalized annual or short-lived perennial herb found in the California Floristic Province in marshes, drying pond margins, and disturbed ground at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces delicate pink to rose flowers 2 to 5 millimeters long, with each flower nestled individually in leaf axils. Growing with stems 10 to 60 centimeters tall, it has lower branches that are decumbent to ascending, with glabrous green stems. Its leaves are distinctive, with lower leaves opposite and oblong to elliptic, while upper leaves become alternate and linear, measuring 5 to 30 millimeters long and appearing slightly glaucous. The small flowers feature an elongated cylindric hypanthium and are characterized by 4 to 6 stamens nestled within the bloom.

Habitat: Marshes, drying pond margins, disturbed ground

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

California counties: Santa Barbara, Calaveras, Tulare, San Diego, Lake, Fresno, Alameda, Tuolumne, Sonoma, Ventura, Orange, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Glenn, Contra Costa, Marin, El Dorado, Santa Cruz, Yolo, Colusa, Butte, Solano, Mendocino, Riverside, Kern, Los Angeles, Lassen, San Mateo, San Joaquin, Monterey, Placer, Santa Clara, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Merced, San Francisco, Madera, Nevada, Napa, Yuba, San Bernardino, Sutter, Amador, Tehama, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Del Norte, Trinity, Stanislaus, Mariposa, Modoc

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.