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Willow Herb

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Willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium) seen on the Pralongià Alm. Photo by Karen Fjerdingstad.

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madeintahoe

So Pretty!

Voted 10/10

Ejnar...so beautiful! We call this same plant Fireweed in the Sierra and US. It is my very favorite wildflower! We have a patch of it that blooms each summer on our property..it is such a beautiful flower and color!
Thank you!

Posted Apr 6, 2007 11:42 am


	Ejnar Fjerdingstad	Re: So Pretty!
	Hasn't voted	Thank you for your comments. Yes, I guess Willow Herb is the British name. We have them in Denmark too. It is also one of my wife's favourite flowers, and she was quite surprised to find them more than 6000 ft. up in the Alps - we hadn't seem them before in the Dolomites.
		Posted Apr 6, 2007 4:42 pm

donhaller3

Context is crucial.

Voted 10/10

In the American West, fireweed is frequenty considered an invasive and tends to take over road cuts, burns, and other disturbed places. But no one can deny its charm, and the early season impact it can have. http://www.summitpost.org/object_discussion.php?type=message_board&object_id=151880&discussion_id=51420#51420

Posted Apr 7, 2007 12:52 pm


	Ejnar Fjerdingstad	Re: Context is crucial.
	Hasn't voted	In Denmark, fireweed is mostly found on poor soils, such as the moors in central Jutland where my wife comes from, and is not considered invasive. I think the only time I have seen it in the Alps was when this photo was taken, so clearly it is not any danger there either.
		Posted Apr 8, 2007 8:24 am


	donhaller3	Re: Context is crucial.
	Voted 10/10	Right. I don't think fireweed hurts anything in the northwest(unlike scotchbroom or Himalayan blackberry), it just is very conspicuous. The site is a reference to a log entry where fireweed was part of a very beautiful afternoon for me.
		Posted Apr 8, 2007 2:52 pm


	verdeleone	Re: Context is crucial.
	Hasn't voted	Fireweed is a native plant (and one of my favorites). It does tend to be one of the first plants to revegetate disturbed areas, but it isn't invasive (meaning it doesn't belong and pushes out native species). I think correctly it would be considered a pioneer species. Sure is pretty either way, though.
		Posted May 16, 2007 6:57 pm


	donhaller3	Re: Context is crucial.
	Voted 10/10	Sigh. Knowing what one is talking about is even more crucial. Apparently I didn't. I know I have been told it was an "invasive" repeatedly, but the books I have indeed make no such assertion. I owe you, Oh Green Lion! I could have been jerked short in much more painful ways. It remains beautiful. Gilkey indicates thar "Australian Fire-weed" has been working north from Humboldt County since 1918 (writing in 1966?), maybe that plantis the source of my confusion.
		Posted May 16, 2007 10:34 pm


	Ejnar Fjerdingstad	Re: Context is crucial.
	Hasn't voted	Thank you for setting things straight!
		Posted May 17, 2007 2:49 pm

lcarreau

Geez...

Voted 10/10

I'm glad you got things all straightened
out, Ejnar! Did you know this plant grows
in Alaska? In September, the flowers fall
off, and the stalks & leaves turn blood red!
PLEASE click.

Posted Feb 7, 2008 12:55 pm


	Ejnar Fjerdingstad	Re: Geez...
	Hasn't voted	This doesn't happen in Denmark, I guess it must be another species, but it actually makes the name more fitting with all these stalks flaming red. Very beautiful.
		Posted Feb 7, 2008 4:47 pm