Standing as high as seven feet, purple loosestrife grows in such thick tangles that other native plants get choked out. That, in turn, affects the animals that depend on those native plants for food or cover. The plant has some fans. Beekeepers like it because its many flowers help pollination. Some gardeners favor it because the late bloomer adds luster to plots after most other flowers have wilted.
Some nurseries even sell it.
Nonetheless, loosestrife is on environmentalists' hit lists. The beetles dispatched to handle the plant will need time to do the work, reproduce and head out to other plants, Blossey said. So it could be another 10 years before a nationwide reduction is noticed. Over a couple of decades, researchers predict the purple loosestrife population will be reduced by 90 percent.