Purple loosestrife can be used as food and medicine.
Below you’ll learn the parts used, harvest time, nutrition and other ways humans use this amazing plant.
Scientific Name
Family
Lythraceae
Botanical Description
Stems erect, 2-4 feet high, slightly branched, glabrous or softly downy; leaves opposite, or in threes, sessile, clasping the stem, lanceolate, entire; flowers reddish-purple or pink, in rather dense whorls, forming handsome terminal spikes, more or less leafy at the base, the upper floral leaves reduced to bracts.
Status
Perennial. Native
Habitat and Distribution
Fens, marsh and river banks.
Purple loosestrife is widely distributed in Europe, North America, Asia, northwest Africa and southeastern Australia.
Parts Used for Food
Flowers and leaves.
Harvest Time
Spring.
Food Uses of Purple Loosestrife
Young leaves eaten in small amounts. There are claims that the root is edible, although this is questionable as I can find no reference in the ethnobotanical record. Note: It is illegal to dig up roots without landowner’s consent.
Nutritional Profile
Contains flavonoids, polyphenols and tannins REF.
Herbal Medicine Uses of Purple Loosestrife
Purple loosestrife has been used in traditional (folk) medicine as a treatment for diarrhoea, chronic intestinal catarrh, haemorrhoids, eczema, varicose veins and bleeding of the gums REF.
Other Uses
A red hair dye was once made from the flowers REF. The dye can also be used as a food colouring.
Safety Note
The plant is high in tannins, so moderate use of the edible leaves and shoots is advised.