Flower for the Day Purple Loosestrife 8-2-24

The days pass by softly. We are into August with three days of high 90's temperature which translates into 

over one hundred in heat index. Thankful for spot thunderstorms which save the gardens. Purple loosestrife 

Lythrum salicaria) has nicely colored flowers.

It has been accused of being invasive but my little garden patch has not changed for almost 50 years.

Its history is interesting:

The generic name Lythrum is derived from the Greek 'lythron', meaning blood, in reference to the flower colour in some species. However, Pliny  (A.D. 23–79) stated that Lythrum is named for Lysimachus, an army general and friend of Alexander the Great. Lysimachus is derived from the Greek lysis, meaning "loosing" and mache, meaning "strife".

Salicaria derives from the similarity of the leaves to those of willows or Salix species.

The English word loosestrife first appeared in written form in the 16th century. It was coined by English naturalist William Turnerin his 1548 work A New Herball, in which he states: "[The plant] may in englishe be called red loosestryfe or purple loosestryfe."^[6]

Purple loosestrife was referred to several times as 'long purples' by John clare, such as in his 1821 poem The Wildflower Nosegay:^[7]

"Where on the water op'd the lily buds

And fine long purples shadow'd in the lake..."

— Volume II of The Village Minstrel and Other Poems, John Clare.