purple loosestrife
noun
: a perennial Eurasian marsh herb (Lythrum salicaria) of the loosestrife family that is naturalized in eastern North America and has long spikes of purple flowers
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web But beware of invasive plants in the region, such as purple loosestrife, autumn olive, Norway maple, tree of heaven and kudzu vines. 
Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2021 Carpets of bright-green grass blanketed the glassy surface of the water, accented here and there by clusters of purple loosestrife, a spiky invasive plant, as an aluminum skiff glided silently over the water. Shantal Riley, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2022 These purple flowers resemble purple loosestrife, an invasive species that grows in wet areas and ditches. Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2021 In the United States, beetles brought in from Europe now suppress purple loosestrife and St. John’s-wort, which were once rampant. Barry Estabrook, WSJ, 9 Oct. 2020 Instead: For a long-lasting punch of purple in the garden, plant native purple coneflower or blazing star instead of purple loosestrife. Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2020 Purple loosestrife, an invasive flowering plant, is sprouting up — a problem that Rothman said will be resolved by galerucella beetles that were released in the area in the 1990s and that eat purple loosestrife. Anna Liz Nichols, Star Tribune, 8 Aug. 2020 The park is currently fighting against invasives like phragmites, hybrid cattail, buckthorn, Japanese knotweed and even wetland species like purple loosestrife. Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, 25 Oct. 2019 Reading Schulz’s piece, I was reminded of the invasion of purple loosestrife, a magenta weed that was taking over all our wetlands and choking out many natural species. Connie Bruck, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2018 See More
Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2021 Carpets of bright-green grass blanketed the glassy surface of the water, accented here and there by clusters of purple loosestrife, a spiky invasive plant, as an aluminum skiff glided silently over the water. Shantal Riley, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2022 These purple flowers resemble purple loosestrife, an invasive species that grows in wet areas and ditches. Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2021 In the United States, beetles brought in from Europe now suppress purple loosestrife and St. John’s-wort, which were once rampant. Barry Estabrook, WSJ, 9 Oct. 2020 Instead: For a long-lasting punch of purple in the garden, plant native purple coneflower or blazing star instead of purple loosestrife. Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2020 Purple loosestrife, an invasive flowering plant, is sprouting up — a problem that Rothman said will be resolved by galerucella beetles that were released in the area in the 1990s and that eat purple loosestrife. Anna Liz Nichols, Star Tribune, 8 Aug. 2020 The park is currently fighting against invasives like phragmites, hybrid cattail, buckthorn, Japanese knotweed and even wetland species like purple loosestrife. Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, 25 Oct. 2019 Reading Schulz’s piece, I was reminded of the invasion of purple loosestrife, a magenta weed that was taking over all our wetlands and choking out many natural species. Connie Bruck, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
1548, in the meaning defined above