Lysimachia quadrifolia (Whorled loosestrife)

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Lysimachia quadrifolia L.

Whorled loosestrife, yellow whorled loosestrife, whorled yellow loosestrife

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Ericales	Tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, azalea, many others
Family	Primulaceae	Primrose family
Genus	Lysimachia	Named for Lysimachus, a king of ancient Sicily, who “calmed a mad ox” with a member of this species
Species	quadrifolia	“Four-leaved”

About plant names...

Whorled loosestrife is a North American native. The genus Lysimachia recognizes a Greek general and king of ancient Thrace (Sicily), Lysimachus. He is said to have calmed a maddened bull using a plant from this genus. The species quadrifolia simply means "four leaves," since each whorl of leaves in this plant most often consists of four leaves.

Plants: 12-36" (30-91 cm) in height, with a smooth, erect stem that is rarely branched.

Leaves: In whorls around the stem, like spokes in a wheel. Each whorl contains 3-7 leaves, usually 4. Leaves are roughly oval, narrow, with sharp tips and hairy underneath.

Flowers: Starlike, with five pointed yellow petals, and a red spot in the center. The flowers are also in whorls, on long petioles arising from the same points where the leaves emerge from the stem. Each flower is ⅜-½" (9.5-12 mm) in diameter. They bloom in June and July.

Online References:

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Wildflowers of the United States

The Vanderbilt University Bioimages web site

6/19/2013 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm)

6/22/2018 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

Young plants are often tinged red. · 6/2/2014 · Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 6" (15 × 14 cm)

6/14/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts

6/29/2014 · Mount Agamenticus, York, Maine
≈ 4 × 6" (11 × 14 cm)

6/14/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

6/18/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, Massachusetts

6/19/2013 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 16 cm)

Lysimachia quadrifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Jul 2023.

7/12/2020 · Harraseeket Trail, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 20 cm)

7/17/2009 · Mt. Lebanon St. Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 4" (14 × 10 cm)

5/8/2021 · Devil’s Back Trail, Orr’s Island, Maine
≈ 3 × 4" (8.3 × 11 cm)

6/8/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 6" (13 × 15 cm)

6/22/2018 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 10" (16 × 24 cm)

6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 5" (14 × 13 cm)

10/18/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Brookline, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 4½" (15 × 12 cm)

6/18/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, Massachusetts

7/12/2020 · Harraseeket Trail, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport, Maine
≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 17 cm)

6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 20 cm)

7/22/1987 · Camp, Sebago Lake, Maine

6/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 27 cm)

Range:

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