General Species Description
- Epilobium ciliatum is an erect perennial herb growing up to two meters. Leafy stems are slighly square and are reddish at the base. Small flowers grow on slender stems off of the main stem. They have short, if any, rhizomes.
Leaves
- Leaves are opposite and vary in size and shape from eliptic to lance shaped, with toothed margins. At each node, there are two opposite leaves without much of a petiole as well as two more smaller opposite stems yielding a rosette of smaller opposite leaves.
Inflorescence/Flowers
- Small lavendar flowers with four petals and are deeply notched. Four sepals and four stames are at the end of a long ovary. Blooms in July and August
Fruits
- The fruits are pod-like capsules which grow to six centimeters long and burst open into four thin curly strips with many small fluffy seeds.
Habitat
- It is found in moist open areas which contain small streams such as meadows, shrub and scrub wetlands and forest edges, as well as roadsides and clear-cut areas.
Range
- It is native and found in the Pacific Northwest north to British Columbia.
Similar Species
- Epilobium ciliatum may be confused with fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), which is a taller (2.5m) herb which grows around recently disturbed sites and has longer and wider leaves, flowers and fruits. The young E. ciliatum may look similar to the Veronica species but veronica is a creeping plant which root at the nodes.
Ecological Value
- Early colonizer of distubed areas
Human Value
References
- Cooke, Sarah Spear. A Field Guide to the Common Wetland Plants of Western Washington and Northwestern Oregon. Seattle: Seattle Audobon Society, 1997. Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions, 1994. Pojar, Jim and Andy MacKinnon. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Vancouver, British Columbia: Lone Pine Publishing, 1994.
This page was created by: Wendy Walters, August 1998
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