Summer Flowers: Whorled Loosestrife

Lysimachia quadrifolia (Whorled Loosestrife) is a pretty little yellow flower that blooms in June and July in the Mid-Atlantic.  The plants grow about three feet tall and the leaves are whorled around the stem.  Often the flowers will bloom all along the stalk of the plant.  Its range includes all of the eastern U.S. and Canada, except Florida.  It does not occur west of the Mississippi River.  Its scientific name comes from Lysimachus, a king of ancient Sicily.  The legend says that he used a different member of the genus to calm an angry bull.

Pictures:

 L. quadrifolia on the Ridge Trail on Old Rag (Shenandoah National Park, 2010)

Another example on the Indian Run Trail in Shenandoah National Park (2011).

This isn't a great picture, but it does show the whorled leaves that characterize the plant (Tuscarora Trail 2012).