Friday, September 18, 2009

Wildflowers of Ainsworth: Purple Loosestrife

PurpleLoosestrife
(Click on image to enlarge)

How does a plant get a cool name like that?

From William R. Long, M. Div., Ph. D., J. D.:
The original name ... was Lysimachia, a Greek word that means "dissolves strife."... [T]he "loosestrife" name in English is a literal translation of "lysimachus," but we seem to have lost all understanding, if we ever really had it, regarding the origin of the name.

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