African elephant vs Ciliate Loosestrife

Loxodonta africana compared with Lysimachia ciliata

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while Ciliate Loosestrife is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Ciliate Loosestrife
Kingdom	Animalia (動物)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索動物)	Magnoliophyta (被子植物門)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Magnoliopsida (モクレン綱)
Order	Proboscidea (ゾウ目)	Ericales (ツツジ目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Primulaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Lysimachia
Species	Loxodonta africana	Lysimachia ciliata

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Ciliate Loosestrife

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Ciliate Loosestrife
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Ciliate Loosestrife

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (9 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

African elephant

地球上最大の陸上動物であるアフリカゾウは体重7,000 kgに達し、サハラ以南のサバンナ、森林、湿地に生息する。成熟した雌が群れを率いる高度に知的な社会構造を持ち、超低周波音やうなり声、接触によって意思疎通する。木を引き倒したり水飲み場を掘ったり種子を散布したりすることで生態系を形成するエンジニア種だが、象牙の密猟や生息地の喪失により個体数は減少しており、危急（VU）とされている。

Ciliate Loosestrife

Ciliate loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) is a rhizomatous perennial herb in the family Primulaceae, native to eastern and central North America, where it grows in moist to wet habitats including stream banks, lake margins, floodplain forests, meadows, and roadside ditches. It has been introduced to Europe, where it has naturalized and occasionally become invasive in riparian and wetland habitats in several countries. The plant produces erect stems typically 60–100 centimeters tall bearing opposite or whorled leaves with characteristic fringed (ciliate) petioles, which distinguish it from related species. The flowers are yellow with five petals reflexed backward, resembling other loosestrifes. Lysimachia ciliata blooms in summer and attracts specialist pollinators including Macropis bees, which collect floral oils from the flowers of Lysimachia species. The species is classified as Not Evaluated by the IUCN. It is common and widespread across its native North American range, from British Columbia and Quebec south to Florida and Texas. Cultivated varieties with bronze-purple foliage, such as 'Firecracker', are popular garden plants. In Europe, wild or garden-escaped populations can colonize disturbed wet habitats, raising ecological concerns about competition with native riparian flora. The generic placement in Primulaceae follows recent molecular phylogenetic revisions that merged the former Lysimachiaceae into the primrose family.