Lysimachia () is a genus consisting of 193 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family was later merged into the Primulaceae. Characteristics Lysimachia species often have yellow flowers, and grow vigorously. They tend to grow in damp conditions. Several species within Lysimachia are commonly called loosestrife, although this name is also used for plants within the genus Lythrum. The genus is named in honor of Lysimachus, a king of ancient Sicily, who is said to have calmed a mad ox by feeding it a member of the genus. Lysimachia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some butterflies and moths, including the dot moth, grey pug, lime-speck pug, small angle shades, and v-pug. Specialized pollinators Bees of the genus Macropis are specialized to pollinate oil-producing Lysimachia plants. These bees use exclusively Lysimachia floral oils for building their nests and provisioning cells. Lysimachia floral-specific chemicals are strong attractors for Macropis nuda and Macropis fulvipes bees that are seldom found in other plant genera. Fossil record Several fossil seeds of Lysimachia sp. have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark. †Lysimachia nikitinii seed fossils have been collected from Pliocene strata of south eastern Belarus. The fossils are most similar to seeds of the East Asian Lysimachia davurica. Selected species Lysimachia arvensis L. - Scarlet pimpernel Lysimachia asperulifolia, orth. var. L. asperulaefolia - roughleaf yellow loosestrife (endemic to Atlantic coastal plain in North and South Carolina) Lysimachia atropurpurea - purple gooseneck loosestrife Lysimachia azorica Hornem. ex Hook. - (endemic to the Azores) Lysimachia barystachys Bunge - Manchurian yellow loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata L. - fringed loosestrife (North America) Lysimachia clethroides - gooseneck loosestrife Lysimachia × commixta , a hybrid of L. terrestris and L. thyrsiflora Lysimachia congestiflora Lysimachia daphnoides (A. Gray) Hillebr. Lehua makanoe (Island of Kauai in Hawaii) Lysimachia filifolia C.N.Forbes (Islands of Oahu and Kauai in Hawaii) Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance Lysimachia fraseri Duby - Fraser's yellow loosestrife (Southeastern United States) Lysimachia glutinosa Lysimachia hillebrandii Hook. f. ex A. Gray - kolokolo kuahiwi (Hawaii) Lysimachia hybrida Michx. Lysimachia iniki - Wailua River yellow loosestrife (endemic to Kauai, Hawaii) Lysimachia japonica Lysimachia latifolia - Pacific starflower Lysimachia lichiangensis Forrest Lysimachia lydgatei - Maui yellow loosestrife (endemic to Maui, Hawaii) Lysimachia maritima Lysimachia