Lysimachia quadrifolia L.
Whorled loosestrife, yellow whorled loosestrife, whorled yellow loosestrife
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: 1–3′ (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.
Habitats: Open woods, thickets, roadsides.
Online References:
6/19/2013 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
6/24/2024 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 2½″ (9.8 × 7.2 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 
6/18/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, Massachusetts 
6/19/2013 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm) 
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 Conservation Area, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 12 cm) 
6/26/2024 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 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) 
6/24/2024 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
6/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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” |
Lysimachia quadrifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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