Lysimachia vulgaris - Yellow Loosestrife - (Primulaceae)

Unrelated to Purple Loosestrife (which flowers at the same time of year and in the same habitats), and despite its structural similarity, Yellow Loosestrife is actually a member of the primrose family. It is common throughout the UK and Ireland and can be found in northern European countries, too, including Slovenia.

Yellow Loosestrife on a roadside

As a general rule it is the early spring flowers that are yellow, but here is a late summer plant that has stunning bright yellow flowers to brighten up the countryside when it is becoming more dominated by blues and pinks. Common Toadflax is another welcome yellow flower in late summer.

Yellow Loosestrife is a marginal plant and thrives beside spate rivers, although you will also see cultivated varieties (which have flower stems much more packed with blooms) in gardens, often in quite dryish areas.

Lysimachia vulgaris

Yellow Loosestrife can be found almost anywhere in damp or marshy habitats in high summer.

A closeup picture of Yellow Loosestrife

Wild Yellow Loosestrife has a laxer flower spike than the garden varieties.

The photographs on this page were taken beside the River Teifi in West Wales in July.