Data from: Lythrum salicaria common garden under Neogalerucella herbivory

AbstractWe transplanted1088 seedlings of the invasive perennial plant Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), from 136 maternal families sourced from 17 populations in the region around Ottawa, Canada, into a common garden containing 4 plots. The 17 populations differed in their prior exposure to the biocontrol agent Neogalerucella spp. leaf beetles (naïve = no prior exposure; recent = secondary colonization, ~5-15 years; release = sites of biocontrol release, ~20 years ago). Plants were planted in a wetland containing other Lythrum plants and experienced ambient (but significant) herbivory by Neogalerucella spp. leaf beetles. We measured herbivory, plant size and biomass over a period of 3.5 years; see the publication for more details. This experiment used the same seed material as a previously published greenhouse study by Stastny & Sargent 2017 (see below). Additional datasets, such as the proportion and phenology of flowering individuals, leaf size, stem and meristem numbers, etc., are available upon request.