Lythrum portula(L.) D.A.Webb

Spatulaleaf Loosestrifespatulaleaf loosestrifewater purslane

WFO wfo-0000366868 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Lythrum portula, photographed by Mary K. Hanson
fig. a Mary K. Hanson, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-03-09 / obs. 182341019
Lythrum portula, photographed by Vladimír Fuka
fig. b Vladimír Fuka, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162702376
Lythrum portula, photographed by Grzegorz Grzejszczak
fig. c Grzegorz Grzejszczak, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 176676768
Lythrum portula, photographed by Pierrette Nyssen
fig. d Pierrette Nyssen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 161341504
Lythrum portula, photographed by J Straka
fig. e J Straka, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 133381535
Lythrum portula, photographed by Татьяна Максимова
fig. f Татьяна Максимова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 94985952
Lythrum portula, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. g Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 95030897
Lythrum portula, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. h Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 93723546

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 43 botanical countries

Regions where Lythrum portula is native: Algeria, Azores, Morocco, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaMoroccoTunisiaKazakhstanTürkiyeAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyKritiNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine AzoresBalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Lythrum portula, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Azores AZO
Morocco MOR
Tunisia TUN
Kazakhstan KAZ ASIA-TEMPERATE
Türkiye TUR

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 21 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Ammannia portula (L.) Baill.
  • Chabraea compressa Bubani
  • Lythrum portula subsp. longidentata (J.Gay) P.D.Sell
  • Lythrum portula var. callitrichoides (A.Br. ex Koehne) Vasc.
  • Lythrum portula var. longidentatum (J.Gay) Vasc.
  • Peplis fradini Pomel
  • Peplis glandulifera Dulac
  • Peplis longidentata (J.Gay) Batt.
  • Peplis portula L.
  • Peplis portula f. aquatica Brenner
  • Peplis portula f. callitrichoides A.Br. ex Koehne
  • Peplis portula prol. longidentata (J.Gay) Rouy & E.G.Camus
  • Peplis portula subsp. longidentata (J.Gay) Nyman
  • Peplis portula var. alternifolia Bréb.
  • Peplis portula var. fradinii (Pomel) Pau & Font Quer
  • Peplis portula var. longidentata J.Gay
  • Peplis portulaca Crantz
  • Peplis portulacifolia Gilib.
  • Peplis serpyllifolia Rupr.
  • Portula diffusa Moench
  • Portula palustris Gray

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.