PURPLE LOOSE-STRIFE. Lythrum salicaria. N.O. Lythraceae.
Synonym : Purple Grass, Willow Strife.
Habitat : By waterways ; luxuriantly on river islands and banks.
Features : Stem four- (sometimes six-) sided, up to four feet high. Leaves in pairs, threes or fours, nearly sessile, lanceolate, margins entire, two to five inches long. Flowers (July to September) large, reddish-purple, six to eight in rings round the stalk. Root woody.
Part used : Herb.
Action : Febrifuge, astringent, alterative.
Chiefly in feverish conditions with other herbs. Some- times as an astringent in diarrhcea. Used alone, simmer 1 ounce in pints water for ten minutes. Dose, wineglass- ful as required.
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