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Fireweed
Chamaenerion angustifolium
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Fireweed is a tall, long-lived wildflower that often paints open ground with rosy-purple blooms. It spreads by wind-borne seeds and creeping underground stems, and is quick to appear after fires and other disturbance. You can see it along roadsides, clearings and light woods across much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Did you know?
- Etelä-Pohjanmaan maakuntakukka.
- Its silky-haired seeds drift like cotton and can travel far on the wind.
About the species
Identification
50–150 cm tall, with an upright, usually unbranched stem that is often reddish. Many narrow, smooth-edged leaves stand singly up the stem; their edges curve slightly under and the underside looks bluish-gray. The flower cluster is long and showy, with four-petaled pink to purple (sometimes pale pink or white) flowers opening from the bottom upward. Later it carries long, thin pods (5–8 cm) that split to release white silky fluff. Compared with other willowherbs, fireweed is taller, less branched and has bigger, brighter flowers. Flowers in Finland in July–August.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
heath forest
Flowering
Jul–Aug
About the habitat
Open, sunny places such as forest clearings and edges, burned ground, cutovers, roadsides, railways and other waste ground; also in light woods on many soil types. Common throughout the country.
Sources
Photo: George Chernilevsky, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chamerion angustifolium 2012 G2.jpg
Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39088
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Metsät: tuoreet kankaat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39088
Text: Pinkka: BIO-516 Hyötykasvit - Kotimaan villivihanneksia ja marjoja, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39088
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitohorsma
