Epilobium angustifolium Seeds | Fireweed
LATIN NAME: Epilobium angustifolium
COMMON NAME: Fireweed
Plant Profile
Fireweed is a plant that arrives after disaster. It is a tall, upright perennial of the willowherb family, one to two metres, with unbranched stems set with narrow, willow-like leaves and topped by a long spike of magenta flowers that opens from the bottom upward over several weeks.
The lower flowers are already setting seed while the top of the spike is still in bud, so a single plant carries buds, open flowers and the first fluffy seed heads at once. The leaves turn red and yellow before the stem dies back. Seed pods are long, slender and pinkish, and when they split they release thousands of seeds, each attached to a tuft of white hair that carries it on the wind. In the northern hemisphere it is the first conspicuous coloniser of burnt ground, cleared forest and roadside disturbance.
Science & Biotechnology
The species has been moved to Chamaenerion on the basis of molecular work, though most of the horticultural literature still calls it Epilobium, and both names will be found on seed lists. Its ecology is built around disturbance: a single plant can produce tens of thousands of seeds, the seed remains viable in the soil for years, and germination is triggered by light and by the flush of nutrients that follows fire.
The plant also spreads aggressively by rhizome, forming patches that can be many metres across, and in the aftermath of a fire those patches may be the first green cover on the slope. The white hairs on the seed are not a dispersal aid in the aerodynamic sense so much as a way of keeping the seed aloft long enough to clear the parent patch. The flowers are pollinated by bees and hoverflies and are a major nectar source in northern summers.
Uses & Benefits
Fireweed is edible and useful at several stages. The young shoots, picked before the stem hardens, are eaten raw or cooked and were a traditional spring vegetable in northern Europe and North America; the pith of the stem is sweet. The leaves make a mild tea, and the plant is a noted honey source, producing a pale, delicately flavoured honey in northern regions where little else flowers in midsummer.
The fibrous stems were used for cordage and the seed fluff for tinder. In the garden it is a plant for wild corners, meadow edges and ground that needs covering fast, but it must be sited with its rhizomes in mind, because it will travel and it will not be argued with. It is also a valuable plant for late-summer bees, and a patch left standing through winter feeds seed-eating birds.
Growing from Seed
Fireweed is easy from seed and needs almost no help. Surface-sow onto a moist, gritty mix, press the seed in but do not cover it, because light is required for germination, and keep the pot at around twenty degrees. Germination is fast, often within two weeks.
The seedlings grow quickly and should be potted on before they crowd. Plant out into any open, sunny ground, and expect flowering in the first or second summer. Once established, it spreads by rhizome and by self-sown seed, so a root barrier or a site with mown grass around it is worth planning. Cut the stems before the fluff forms if you want to limit the spread, and cut again in autumn.
Our Take
A superb pioneer and bee plant for rough ground, but give it a boundary you can enforce. It is a plant for the wild edge of a garden, not for a neat border.
Related Reading
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