The Primrose Family
What are they?
The Primrose family is a very diverse group of plants, though generally the species tend to be low-growing, annuals or herbaceous perennials with often attractive and colorful, five-petalled flowers.
Where are they found?
Most species in the Cape May area are either wetland plants (sometimes in shady woodland habitats) or small annuals of disturbed ground.
Identification
This is a variable group of plants, most of which are easily identified by their flowers and leaves.
American Brookweed Samolus parviflorus
(Water Pimpernel, Seaside Brookweed) A small and easily-missed plant of open marshes, found mostly along the edges of permanent streams and channels and even in the fresher parts of saltmarsh. Flowers May to September.
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American Featherfoil Hottonia inflata
A rare plant of permanently wet ponds in shaded areas. Flowers June. A peculiar plant with inflated, air-filled stems that allow the plant to float at the water surface. Always seems to have been rare in Cape May County with only two known locations, one of which still holds a small number of plants.
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Scarlet Pimpernel Lysimachia arvensis
Introduced from Europe. A low, sprawling plant of open, disturbed ground on arable fields and in waste places. Flowers May to August. The leaves have a slightly succulent quality to them and the stems are square with slightly winged corners.
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American Chickweed-wintergreen Lysimachia borealis
(Starflower) Widespread but local on leafy forest floors, sometimes forming colonies of single stems. Flowers May to June.
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Whorled Loosestrife Lysimachia quadrifolia
An uncommon plant in Cape May, found in damp shade or semi-shade in undisturbed locations. Flowers June to August.
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Lake Loosestrife Lysimachia terrestris
(Swamp-candles, Yellow Loosestrife) Scattered here and there in open, marshy areas. Flowers June to July. Plants often develop small, red bulblets in the leaf axils later in the season.
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Creeping-Jenny Lysimachia nummularia
Introduced from Europe. Occasional in grassy areas and roadsides, including cemeteries, where it spreads readily from original plantings. Flowers June to August. The yellow flowers readily identify this species as a loosestrife, but the trailing habit and rounded leaves are very different to other loosestrife species.
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