''Lysimachia clethroides'', the gooseneck loosestrife, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

, traditionally classified in the family

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the evening primrose family), are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though som ...

. It was transferred to the family

Myrsinaceae Myrsinoideae is a subfamily of the family Primulaceae in the order Ericales. It was formerly recognized as the family Myrsinaceae, or the myrsine family, consisting of 35 genera and about 1000 species. It is widespread in temperate to tropical ...

based on a molecular phylogenetic study, but this family was later merged into the Primulaceae.

Description

''Lysimachia clethroides'' can reach heights of . This hardy herbaceous

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

resembles a tall speedwell. The stem is upright and rigid. The leaves are scattered, alternate, oblong or broadly lanceolate, about 5 cm wide, 7 to 11 cm long, with entire margins. The flowers are tiny (12 cm wide), grouped in terminal spikes, each flower being snow white, with five petals. The inflorescence is bent with a sparsely haired axis, reaching a length of 0.3 to 0.4 cm. It flowers throughout summer. This plant forms underground stolons. It is a pioneer plant in its natural range. The specific epithet ''clethroides'' means "like alder" ('' Clethra'').

Distribution and habitat

The

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

range of this plant is China and Japan. It is also found in Russia, Korea, and North America. It is present in damp woodland margins, wet ravines and forests, sunny grassy hills, and mountain slopes at elevations of above sea level. It prefers deep, rich loam and sheltered positions. This plant has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Use in culinary and traditional medicine

In China, most commonly in

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa (; peng'im: ''Dio5suan1'' i̯o˥˥꜖꜖.sũ̯ã˧˧ is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Min Nan Chaoshan dialect (). The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, c ...

region, leaves from lysimachia clethroides are used in culinary as

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

, for making salads, stir-fried dishes, or soups. Leafy greens from the plant are known as pearl vegetable, and they contain low-sodium and high-potassium. In medicine, lysimachia clethroides are also known as dwarf peach, pearl grass, regulating grass, the ridge grass, ji cocktail, labor injury medicine, stretch lotion, and nine lotus. They are used to treat diarrhea, bruises, sore throat, heat exhaustion, and edema.

Gallery

File:Lysimachia clethroides 01.JPG , Plants File:Klaffer - Kräutergarten - Schnee-Felberich (Lysimachia clethroides) - 2.jpg, Inflorescence File:Lysimachia clethroides 02.JPG , Leaves File:Lysimachia clethroides 04.JPG , Close-up on a leaf File:LAUFER Goosneck Loosestrife.jpg , Bumblebee on Lysimachia clethroides

References

Global speciesPlants.USDA

External links

Lysimachia clethroides in Plants for a FutureMissouri Botanical Gardens
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1070109 clethroides Flora of Eastern Asia Flora of China Flora of the Russian Far East Leaf vegetables Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine