Firetail, Stanley Park, Vancouver
wiki: A single plant may produce up to three million tiny seeds annually. Easily carried by wind and water, the seeds germinate in moist soils after overwintering. The plant can also sprout anew from pieces of root left in the soil or water. Once established, infestations are extremely difficult and costly to remove by mechanical and chemical means.
Purple loosestrife provides a model of successful biological pest control. Research began in 1985 and today the plant is managed well with a number of insects that feed on it.
christine: What I thought was purple loosestrife is more likely firetail (
polygonum amplexicaule) or a similar type of knotweed. The community on
Flickr can be so useful at times.
Always a challenge to know the genus of every single flower we photograph. Perhaps it's time to invest in a plant identification book... ;)