Common name:
Water purslane
Family:
Scientific name:
Lythrum portula
Main flower color:
Range:
Most areas of the British Isles
Height:
A few cm - a prostrate plant, with stems (square in cross-section) up to 20 cm
Habitat:
Damp ground and in shallow water along the margins of ponds, lakes and streams, mostly on acidic soils
Flowers:
Inconspicuous, around 1 mm across, sessile, at the leaf nodes; formed of a ribbed, six-toothed calyx, six miniscule petals, and six stamens, which have red filaments and dark purple anthers
Leaves:
Opposite, ovate to oblanceolate, hairless, often reddish along the margins, at the base, and along the (pinnate) veins. Up to 2 cm long
Season:
June to October
Rarity:
★★★★★
