Lysimachia punctata, Primulaceae
The bright, showy flower spikes of the dotted loosestrife surely stand out on a grey day, but have only relatively recently started popping up in the natural landscape of the British Isles, having been present for less than a few decades in most areas. Originally introduced from South-Eastern Europe, Western Asia and the Caucasus, this vigorous species became a common element in cottage gardens in the second part of the XVII century, when it was also popular as a long-lasting cut flower, but as it propagates mostly vegetatively through short rhizomes and sexually only if grown in ideal conditions, it took it a while to reach the wilderness and can now be encountered generally as small colonies in proximity of urban areas or streams, at least here in Scotland. If grown in full sun in rich, humid soil it should be divided each year to prevent it from forming very large clumps.
Lysimachia species are notable for producing oils rather than nectar (the species name, punctata, refers to the oil glands, small dark dots on the inferior page of the leaves), which attract specialised oil-collecting bees of the genus Macropis. As M. nuda is native to the US and M. fulvipes seems to roam the native area of this plant and Europe, reaching only Southern England, I’m unsure regarding natural, frequent pollinators up here in Scotland.
