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Natural
History Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) Richard Hebda INDEX for Native Plants This text was originally published in Coastal Grower (formerly The Island Grower) in Victoria, British Columbia. For subscription information, please call Susanne Steele at the Coastal Grower at 250-478-0825. Great fields of pinkish purple cover thousands of hectares of British Columbia after fire and logging. In the late summer and fall, fluffy white fruits drift leisurely in the air. The cause of these, fireweed, is a plant almost too common to merit description. Yet it plant was once an important food resource for native peoples and it, produces excellent bee flowers. Furthermore, with proper management, fireweed serves well as an exceptionally showy garden perennial. A member of the Evening Primrose Family (Onagraceae), fireweed grows into a tall persistent herb. Normally the stout stems reach 1-2 m (40-80") high but exceptional stands stretch to a towering 3 m (120"). Stems arise form a tough woody rootstock which often produces rhizomes (underground pinkish purple stem-roots). Numerous long and narrow dark green leaves scatter along the stem and are the origin of the species name angustifolium (narrow leaved). The underside of leaves is much paler and the mid vein prominently purplish especially late in the year. A great spike of 15-50 or more flowers adorns the top of the stem from mid summer to fall. Each flower protrudes on a short stalklet. The long narrow ovary extends 1-2 cm beyond the stalklet. At the tip of the ovary, four showy petals stick out at right angles. This arrangement of petals at the tip soon-to-be-seed-pod gave rise to the scientific name Epilobium. In Greek Epi means 'upon' and lobos means 'pod'. Each petal consists mostly of a large rounded blade, but is attached to the ovary by a short narrow claw. The four petals alternate with four narrow sepals. A typical flower stretches about 2.5-3 cm (1") across. A four-cleft purplish pink stigma perches atop the style at the centre of the bloom. Curiously the stigma at first remains unexpanded but with age the four lobes split open and curl back. Eight purplish stamens spider around the stigma. Normally flowers are bright lilac pink, but lighter shades occur often. Pure white flowers have been reported. After flowering, ovaries expand into long narrow capsules which eventually split down their length. Delicate fluffy parachutes transport the tiny seeds far from the parent. Fireweed grows in suitable sites throughout British Columbia. It occurs throughout Canada south to California eastward to the Atlantic coast. The Yukon honours fireweed as the territorial flower. Outside of North America, fireweed occurs throughout much of Europe and northern Asia even into the Himalaya. Fireweed plants grow almost anywhere they can get a foothold except in deep dark shade. Typical habitats include meadows, forests, roadsides, river bars, burned and logged forests. Seedlings often appear spontaneously even in gardens deep in the city. This perennial makes a fine garden plant especially in harsh climates and sites. But beware, if you feed it too well it will invade. The easiest way to get fireweed is to wait until the plant simply appears, wafted in from some neighbouring clump. Keeping it in the garden then becomes a simple challenge of controlling the plant. It's easy to transplant a piece of underground root crown or rhizome from a disturbed site. Choose a medium to dry spot of no special fertility. Do not put fireweed near less vigorous plants or it will overwhelm them in short order. If you cannot find any plant material, then collect the seed in the fall and disperse at the site you want it to grow. The seed will come up soon enough, developing into a rosette first before sending up stalks. A less invasive white form is occasionally available in garden centres and nurseries. Managing the plant is largely a matter of keeping the root system from spreading out and cutting the stems before the seeds fly off and start more plants. Sometimes slashing down the first vigorous shoots leads to the appearance of a second set of smaller less robust shoots. Except in the hot dry southern interior of B.C., do not feed water or mulch, just leave it. Native people used fireweed in many ways. On the Queen Charlotte Islands, choice patches were even owned by high-ranking families. Fireweed shoots provided an excellent spring vegetable. The soft inner tissue (pith) of the stem was eaten raw, sometimes with sugar. The taste is pleasant but the texture mucilaginous. Usually the fibrous outer covering was discarded. However in some cases it was saved and twisted into twine. Saanich peoples made tea from the young leaves. Medicine was also made from the shoots. In eastern Russia the leaves were used as a tea substitute. Today beekeepers all over the province trot out their hives into clear cuts and burns where hectares of fireweed flourish. Bees make a rich tasting dark honey from the pollen and nectar. If you are prepared for ruthless control tactics, then fireweed will make an excellent native garden perennial for the garden. For your control efforts you will be rewarded by an exotic yet delicious native vegetable. For more information on British Columbia's native plants contact Richard Hebda the Royal British Columbia Museum.
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