Lysimachia L. (Primulaceae)

As circumscribed below, Lysimachia is represented by fourteen species in North Carolina. Lysimachia asperulifolia is currently federally listed (E). Lysimachia fraseri is currently state listed. Lysimachia hybrida and L. tonsa of conservation concern and tracked by NHP (as members of Steironema).

Federally listed taxon—
Lysimachia asperulifolia (Fed E, State E | S3 G3)

Habitat. Ecotones between longleaf pine savannas and pond pine pocosins.

Range. Endemic to the Carolinas.

Additional resources. NHP | Recovery plan

Key to Lysimachia in North Carolina

Key adapted from Weakley (2008 and 2015). Photos by Krings, unless otherwise indicated. Line drawings from Britton & Brown (1913), except L. fraseri (from Patrick et al. 1995). Maps courtesy of USDA PLANTS and the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program.

1. Leaves alternate; flowers white, in a terminal raceme, the tip often lax...L. clethroides

1'. Leaves opposite or whorled; flowers yellow, borne variously...2.

2. Leaves nearly round; plant trailing, rooting at nodes...L. nummularia

2'. Leaves linear, lanceolate, elliptic, or ovate; plant erect...3.

3. Flowers in a terminal raceme or panicle, subtended by bracts much smaller than the stem leaves...4.

4. Inflorescence a terminal panicle...L. fraseri

4'. Inflorescence a terminal raceme...5.

5. Leaves narrowly ovate, broadest near the base, with 3 prominent veins...L. asperulifolia*

5'. Leaves linear to lanceolate, broadest near the middle, with 1 prominent vein...6.

6. Leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, (1–) 2–4 (–8) mm wide; sepals stipitate-glandular...L. loomisii

6'. Leaves lanceolate to elliptic, 7–20 mm wide; sepals glabrous...7.

7. Flowers in part (the lower) in the axils of well-developed leaves...L. × producta [quadrifolia x terrestris]

7'. Flowers all in the axils of much reduced linear bracts...L. terrestris

3'. Flowers axillary, all or most of them subtended by leaves similar in shape to (though often somewhat smaller than) stem leaves not subtending flowers...8.

8. Stem leaves whorled (in adult plants); leaves lineate (with sinuous, elongate markings)...9.

9. Petals yellow, marked with black lines; sepals 2.5–5 mm long...L. quadrifolia

9’. Petals plain yellow, not marked with black lines; sepals 5.5–9 mm long...L. punctata

8'. Stem leaves opposite; leaves not lineate...10.

10. Mid-cauline leaves with petioles ciliate their entire length...11.

11. Mid-cauline leaves ovate to lanceolate, 17–60 mm wide...L. ciliata

11'. Mid-cauline leaves lanceolate to linear, 4–23 mm wide...12.

12. Plants lacking creeping rhizomes, but stem bases often with adventitious roots (and slightly swollen); leaf blade bases rounded to broadly cuneate; wetlands...L. hybrida

12’. Plants with well developed rhizomes, stems lacking adventitious roots; leaf blade bases cuneate; usually mesic to dry sites...L. lanceolata

10'. Mid-cauline leaves with petioles pubescent only along basal portion...13.

13. Rhizomes absent, new shoots arising from crown of rootstock...L. tonsa

13'. Rhizomes present, new shoots arising from the rhizome...14.

14. Leaf blades ovate to lanceolate, typically 2–4× as long as wide, rounded to cuneate at the base, with the midrib not prominent; sepals conspicuously veined, 0.5–4 mm wide...L. hybrida

14'. Leaf blades linear to narrowly lanceolate, typically 8–14× as long as wide, cuneate to tapering at the base, with a prominent midrib; sepals not conspicuously veined, 1–2 mm wide...L. quadriflora