|
| Fireweed; Epilobium angustifolium L. |
Evening Primrose Family; ONAGRACEÆ
|
| Fireweed is a colony-forming perennial herb of tall, slender stature. Each spring, thick, spreading roots push forth
willow-leaved shoots, which begin opening their pink-purplish (rarely white) flowers in mid-May. The tallest flowerstems reach 10 feet. Each flower gives rise to
a skinny, 2 to 4 inch long seedpod, bursting open in late summer to liberate tiny seeds borne on puffy, cottony strands. In winter the
spent stalks die to dry straw. |
| A native here, Fireweed occurs across North America and Eurasia. Loving sunshine, it's seen in vast abundance on burned-over
land, clear-cuts, bomb sites and vacant lots in cities. Though by no means the only weedy member of its genus, it is the strongest, showiest
and best known. Smaller, weedier, less pretty cousins abound (see Dwarf Fireweed). |
| Its narrow leaves and wand-like stems caused the English to name it Willowherb (sometimes prefixed by Rosebay, Spiked or
Great). Its other names of Blooming Sally (i.e., Sallow, a European pussy willow) and French Willow also suggest its foliar reminiscence to many willows. Saint Anthony's Herb is a widely used European name for it. |
Besides being powerful, widespread and familiar, Fireweed is useful. It is a good honey plant and is palatable to wildlife,
livestock and humans. The young shoots in spring are passable eaten raw, but better cooked. The flower buds, flowers and unripe seedpods can
be added to salads. They are slightly acrid, so ingestion of much proves unpleasant to the throat. But small amounts, or cooking, alleviate
this shortcoming. The cottony seeds have been used in various ways, such as in weaving and for stuffing. Fireweed lacks very potent
medicinal properties, but it has mildly tonic, anti-diarrheic and astringent properties. Said to be the National Flower of Russia, it stands for
celibacy in the Language of Flowers. It could be worse.
|
Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in August 1988, along with an illustration drawn by Sylvan Haven.
Back |
|
|
