olena
<font color=green>Emerald Angel<br><font color=mag
- Joined
- May 12, 2001
Provincial Flower
Fireweed
Chamerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium)
Narrowleaf Fireweed
Description Pink spires of flowers bloom at tops of tall, erect, leafy stems with narrow willow-like leaves.
Flowers: sepals 4; petals 4, 1/2-3/4" (1.3-2 cm) long and up to 1" (2.5 cm) wide, spreading, usually deep pink but occasionally white; stamens 8; and a 4-parted stigma at the end of the style.
Leaves: 4-8" (10-20 cm) long, lanceolate to linear, with veins joined in loops near edge of leaf.
Fruit: pod 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) long, slender, stands out rigidly from stem.
Height: 2-7' (60-210 cm).
Flower June-September.
Habitat Disturbed soil in cool areas, from the lowlands well into the mountains, frequent along highways and in burned areas; hence one common name.
Range Throughout most of western North America; in the East from Alberta east to Newfoundland, south to North Carolina, west to Tennessee, and northwest to Illinois, Iowa, and North Dakota.
Discussion Often grows in spectacular dense patches, and though attractive, it is aggressive in a moist garden, spreading from persistent underground stems. The seeds are dispersed far and wide by long, white, silky hairs. Bees value it as a source of nectar, and the very young shoots and leaves can be eaten as cooked greens. Recent work at the genetic level has shown that Chamerion, recognized by its alternate leaves, is distinct from Epilobium (with leaves opposite, at least near base), the genus in which Fireweed was formerly placed.
Fireweed
Chamerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium)
Narrowleaf Fireweed
Description Pink spires of flowers bloom at tops of tall, erect, leafy stems with narrow willow-like leaves.
Flowers: sepals 4; petals 4, 1/2-3/4" (1.3-2 cm) long and up to 1" (2.5 cm) wide, spreading, usually deep pink but occasionally white; stamens 8; and a 4-parted stigma at the end of the style.
Leaves: 4-8" (10-20 cm) long, lanceolate to linear, with veins joined in loops near edge of leaf.
Fruit: pod 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) long, slender, stands out rigidly from stem.
Height: 2-7' (60-210 cm).
Flower June-September.
Habitat Disturbed soil in cool areas, from the lowlands well into the mountains, frequent along highways and in burned areas; hence one common name.
Range Throughout most of western North America; in the East from Alberta east to Newfoundland, south to North Carolina, west to Tennessee, and northwest to Illinois, Iowa, and North Dakota.
Discussion Often grows in spectacular dense patches, and though attractive, it is aggressive in a moist garden, spreading from persistent underground stems. The seeds are dispersed far and wide by long, white, silky hairs. Bees value it as a source of nectar, and the very young shoots and leaves can be eaten as cooked greens. Recent work at the genetic level has shown that Chamerion, recognized by its alternate leaves, is distinct from Epilobium (with leaves opposite, at least near base), the genus in which Fireweed was formerly placed.
