Lysimachia terrestris (L.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb.

Swamp candles, bog loosestrife, lake loosestrife, earth loosestrife, bulbil loosestrife

About plant names...

Swamp candles—a marvelously appropriate name—sport their ghostly flames along the edges of fresh water, includ­ing lakes, swamps, ponds, and seasonally wet areas. They are North American natives.

Plants: 9-36″ (22-91 cm) tall, on unbranched or sparingly-branched stems. Stems are light green, with a circular cross section, and smooth.

Leaves: Usually opposite, dotted, 1¼-4″ (3.2-10 cm) × ¼-¾″ (6.3-19 mm), linear to elliptic, and entire. Leaf tops are hairless; bottoms are paler green and sometimes hairy. Leaves may have no petiole (leaf stem), or a short one.

Flowers: Flowers are the identifying feature of swamp candles, arranged in a near-perfect cylindrical raceme 4-12″ (10-30 cm) long, facing outward in all directions, flowering from the bottom up, like a flame racing up a dry plant. Each flower is a five-pointed yellow star, ½-¾″ (1.3-1.9 cm) around, with five stamens and a green ovary with a single style. There are two red spots at the base of each petal. Flowers appear from June to August.

Fruits: Fruits are pocked with small depressions, and 1/16-⅛″ (3-3.5 mm) in length. This plant produces curious bublets, segmented red “fruits” at leaf axils, resembling little red hairless caterpillars. I cannot find any credible information on the purpose of the bulblets.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Minnesota Wildflowers

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

EFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 194

9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 7 × 10″ (16 × 25 cm)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm)

9/20/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm)

Lysimachia terrestris description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 23 Aug 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

6/24/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Ctr, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 23 cm)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm)

6/30/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)

9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 7 × 10″ (16 × 25 cm)

The red “carrots” are bulbets. · 9/16/2016 · Sieur de Monts Botanical Gardens, Bar Harbor, Maine

9/20/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)

Range: Zones 3-8:

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