Lythraceæ, a natural order of exogenous plants, chiefly herbs, and rarely shrubs or trees.
The order contains about 40 genera and upwards of 300 species, chiefly natives of the tropics; but a few are found in Europe and in North America. Astringent qualities are ascribed to some of the species. The order is well represented in Britain by the well-known Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), which grows abundantly on the margins of ponds and streams and in moist meadows, in some parts of the country imparting character to the landscape by its broad masses of purple flowers. The Henna (q.v.) of Egypt is produced by Lawsonia inermis, a plant of this order. The leaves of another (Pemphis acidula) are said to be a common pot-herb on the coasts of the tropical parts of Asia. The leaves of Ammania vesicatoria, an East Indian aquatic plant, are very acrid, and are sometimes used as blisters. Physocalymna floribunda, a Brazilian tree of this order, growing about 30 feet high, furnishes the valuable rosewood (the American tulipwood) of commerce.