Chamerion latifolium (L.) Holub

Dwarf fireweed

Dwarf fireweed, related to evening primrose, is an Alaskan native, and now appears in Arctic and subarctic parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and further south at higher eleva­tions. I’d have thought “fireweed” referred to its dramatic and attractive flowers, but the name stems from its ability to rapidly colonize burned ground. In postwar Britain, it was known as rosebay willowherb and informally as bombweed because it appeared quickly in bomb craters. Dwarf fire­weed appears on river banks, gravel bars, and glacial outwashes, open woods, roadsides, open fields, pastures, prairies, hills, damp ravines, and disturbed areas. It is found at elevations from sea level to 13000 feet.

Plants: Less than 2′ (70 cm), with stiff, woody stems.

Leaves: ⅜–4 ⨉ ½–¾″ (1–10 ⨉ 1.3–1.9 cm), alternate, sessile, elliptic to widely lanceolate in shape. Leaves are gray-green, with a single prominent vein on the underside. Leaf tips may be pointed or rounded.

Flowers: A raceme of striking, rough-haired hot pink or pur­ple flowers (sometimes white), tilted sideways or nod­ding downwards. The four petals are up to 1″ (3 cm) long. Sharp-tipped, darker pink sepals form a backdrop. Flowers appear from July to August.

Fruits: Elongated, narrow capsules 1–4″ (3–10 cm) long, with seeds at the tip that are 1/32–1/16″ (1.3–2.4 mm).

Habitats: At elevations from sea level to 13000 feet.

Fireweeds.

Edibility: Inuit have long eaten the leaves raw, steeped in tea, or boiled in fat. In addition to the leaves, flowers, fruits, and young shoots are edible.

Online References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Chamerion latifolium description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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