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Epilobium adenocaulon

Epilobium adenocaulon

Epilobium adenocaulon

Identify the Epilobium adenocaulon from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Common

Invasive alien species

Epilobium adenocaulon is a tall, branching willowherb from North America that has spread widely in northern Europe. It grows in damp and disturbed places and carries many small, pale pink flowers along its upper stems. Long, thin pods release clouds of silky‑haired seeds that travel far on the wind.

Did you know?

  • Its tiny seeds have silky hairs that let the wind carry them long distances.
  • The flower’s central tip is club‑shaped, a handy clue for telling it from similar willowherbs.

About the species

Identification

Perennial 30–120 cm. Stems smooth below, slightly rough‑hairy above, often with many side branches from the leaf joints. Leaves in pairs, very short‑stalked, narrow to oval, dark green, finely toothed, smooth; a thick leaf rosette can persist at the base with last year’s dead leaves. Small four‑petaled flowers (3–7 mm) are pale pink. Later, long thin pods (5–8 cm) split to release many fluffy‑tufted seeds. Key clue: the flower’s central tip is like a tiny club. Differs from Epilobium ciliatum, which has white flowers. Flowers in Finland in July–August.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

yards and roadsides, shore, mire

Flowering

Jul–Aug

About the habitat

Grows in many places, especially damp or wet ground: river and lake shores, ditches, stream banks, and wet clearings. Also found on roadsides, waste ground and cutovers, sometimes even on fairly dry banks. Common in the south and up to around Oulu; becomes rarer northwards and is only occasional in Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Parker James Lloyd, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6498114328

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39097

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39097

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Dactylis-Epilobium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39097

Text: FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39097

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerikanhorsma

See also