Medium to tall, erect, patch forming plant. Minutely downy. Leaves in whorls of 3 or 4 opposite. Flowers yellow, 18 to 26 mm borne in clusters at the bases of upper leaf whorls. Petal lobes broad fringed with glandular hairs.

Lysimachia vulgaris (often introduced into waterside habitats, although rare as a true native in VC55); some other garden species may become naturalised 

Leaves hairy; calyx glandular-hairy and green all over; flowers in dense clusters in axils; lobes of flowers with glandular hairs along margins.

General photo of plant in its habitat, plus details of flowers and calyx (a side-on view)

Moist open woodland, damp grassy places, river banks, marshes. Often near habitation as a garden throw-out.

June to August.

Perennial - Many wild plants may be established from original garden escapes. It is now widely naturalised.

Recorded from most of England, Wales and southern Scotland.

Infrequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 16 of the 617 tetrads.

In the current Checklist (Jeeves, 2011) it is listed as Alien (neophyte); scarce.