purple ammannia
Ammannia coccinea Rottb.
Ammannia coccinea, known as purple ammannia, is a flowering plant in the Lythraceae family. It is native to much of the contiguous United States, excluding the Pacific Northwest and New England, and is also found in parts of Europe and Asia. This annual herb grows erect or prostrate, reaching up to one meter in height. It thrives in moist environments such as riverbanks and pond edges.
Description
Ammannia coccinea has linear leaves up to 8 cm long, varying in color from green to deep red. The plant produces 3 to 5 flowers in the leaf axils along the upper stem. Each flower has small rose to lavender petals and prominent yellow anthers. The fruit is a capsule up to 0.5 cm wide, containing numerous tiny seeds. The species was first described in 1773 and is considered weedy in certain regions.
Other common names
Valley redstemtoothcuppurple ammannia
Distribution
British Columbia · Portugal Continental · Nearctic · Neotropical · TR · TW · CL · Belgium · Flemish Region · France · The Netherlands · Great Britain · IT · PT · FR · GR · Greece · Italy · Portugal · Spain · CN · AL · Cundinamarca, Magdalena · JP · Maule Region |Araucanía Region · NO · SV · HN · GT · Llanura del Caribe, Valle del Magdalena
