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You are viewing an archived site. The Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database project ended in 2020 and the database is no longer receiving updates. Learn more…
Image of Lycopus europaeus

Lycopus europaeus

Plants

European Bugle-weed

Image Credit: Arne Anderberg

Description Taxonomy Invasion History Ecology Impacts References

Description

Potentially Misidentified Species - The species listed are all native. Lycopus uniflorus is rare on the Coastal Plain (Brown and Brown 1984; Harvill et al. 1992).


Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Plantae Magnoliophyta Magnoliopsida Lamiales Lamiaceae Lycopus

Synonyms

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record Population Range Introduction Residency Source Region Native Region Vectors
1860 Established Stable Introduced Regular Resident Europe Eurasia Shipping(Dry Ballast)

History of Spread

Lycopus europeaus' (European Bugleweed) range extends from central Scandinavia to the Mediterranean (Swedish National Museum 2001). There are many early erroneous records of L. europeaus (European Bugleweed) from eastern North America due to confusion with native species. The earliest vouchered specimen is from ~1860 from 'about the wharf' in Norfolk VA. There were probably many separate introductions to North America, including Philadelphia and Camden NJ (1867, New York (1877), Boston (1880), and Lake Ontario (1903). Lycopus europeaus has colonized all of Lake Erie, Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River to Montreal (Stuckey and Phillips 1970; Mills et al. 1993). However, it is rare in interior New York and the Hudson Valley (Mills et al. 1997). Isolated occurrences have been reported from AL, LA, MS, Nova Scotia, and NC (Stuckey and Phillips 1970; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998).

In Chesapeake Bay, L. europaeus was reported from Norfolk County in 1893 and from Suffolk VA (Nansemond County) in 1898 (Stuckey and Phillips 1970). By the late 1930's, it was well established in marshes, swales, and roadsides around the southwest flank of lower Chesapeake Bay (Stuckey and Phillips 1970; Harvill et al. 1992).

Sollers (1888) reported L. europaeus from Baltimore (but these specimens were not checked by Stuckey and Phillips (1970). It was also spreading south of Wilmington on the Delaware River and was collected from the C&O canal in 1896 (Stuckey and Phillips 1970). Tatnall (1946) found it 'common along streams, and on borders of fresh and brackish marshes; Coastal Plain of Cecil (MD) and New Castle (DE) counties; rare farther south'. One collection was made ' north of Ocean City Worcester County....12 Sept 1936.' (Tatnall 1946). Klotz (1986) reported it from fresh marshes on Wallops Island VA. Brown and Brown (1984) describe it as 'established in waste areas W-B (Washington-Baltimore) area; common on the northern Eastern Shore'. Stuckey and Phillips (1970) note that this plant is often overlooked because of its similarity to native Lycopus spp.

History References - Brown and Brown 1984; Harvill et al.1992; Klotz 1986; Mills et al. 1997; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998; Robinson and Fernald 1908; Sollers 1888; Stuckey and Phillips 1970; Tatnall 1946

Invasion Comments

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

For SurvivalFor Reproduction
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Temperature (ºC)
Salinity (‰) 0.0 0.0
Oxygen
pH
Salinity Range fresh-oligo

Age and Growth

Male Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm) 400.0 400.0
Typical Adult Size (mm) 700.0 700.0
Maximum Adult Size (mm) 1000.0 1000.0
Maximum Longevity (yrs)
Typical Longevity (yrs

Reproduction

Start Peak End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young
Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual
Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction
Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

Lycopus europaeus (European Bugleweed) is locally common in waste areas (Brown and Brown 1984), but apparently has no economic impacts in Chesapeake Bay or its watershed.

References- Brown and Brown 1984


Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Lycopus europaeus (European Bugleweed) appears to have no significant ecological impacts in North America (Stuckey and Phillips 1970).

References- Stuckey and Phillips 1970


Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Impacts of Lycopus europaeus (European Bugle-weed) may be small, owing to its rarity in the Chesapeake Bay region, so that impacts

Hybridization - Frequent hybridization with Lycopus americanus (American Bugleweed or Water Horehound) has been noted in the Great Lakes region. The two species differ somewhat in moisture preferences, with L. americanus preferring drier wetland soils, L. europaeus liking wetter conditions, and hybrids tending to be found in intermediate conditions. The broad intermediate range of morphological characters suggests that introgression has occurred, but because the two species and hybrids tend to be arranged along a gradient, the abundance of L. americanus has not been affected. (Andrus and Stuckey 1981). Whether hybridization occurs in the Chesapeake Bay region is unknown.

References - Andrus and Stuckey 1981


Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Impacts of Lycopus europaeus (European Bugle-weed) on non-native biota in the Chesapeake Bay region are not known.


References

Andrus, Mark E.; Stuckey, Ronald L. (1981) Introgressive hybridization and habitat separation in Lycopus americanus and L. europaeus at the southwestern shores of Lake Erie, The Michigan Botanist 20: 127-135

Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.

Gleason, Henry A. (1963) The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.

Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.

Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.

Klotz, Larry H. (1986) The vascular flora of Wallops Island and Wallops mainland, Virginia, Castanea 51: 306-326

Mills, Edward L.; Scheuerell, Mark D.; Carlton, James T.; Strayer, David (1997) Biological invasions in the Hudson River: an inventory and historical analysis., New York State Museum Circular 57: 1-51

1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse

Resource Management Inc. (1993) National list of plant species that occur in wetlands., , Minneapolis.. Pp.

Robinson, Benjamin Lincoln; Fernald, Merrit L. (1908) Gray's New Manual of Botany., , New York. Pp.

Sollers, Basil (1888) Check list of plants compiled for the vicinity of Baltimore., , Baltimore. Pp.

Stuckey, Ronald L.; Phillips, W. Louis (1970) Distributional history of Lycopus europaeus (European water-horehound) in North America, Rhodora 72: 351-369

Tatnall, Robert R. (1946) Flora of Delaware and the Eastern Shore, , Wilmington. Pp.


Direct questions and comments to chesnemo@si.edu.

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