Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium ciliatum
codlins-and-cream, fiddle grass, fiddle grass willowherb, great or great hairy willowherb, great willowherb, hairy willlowherb, hairy willow-herb, épilobe hirsute
American willowherb, ciliate willowherb, fringe willow-herb, northern purple-leaf willowherb, purple-leaf willowherb, slender willow herb, Watson's willowherb, épilobe cilié
erect to ascending, often clumped, terete, 25–120(–250) cm, unusually thick, 3–9 mm diam., well branched mainly in distal 1/2, densely long-villous throughout, usually mixed glandular puberulent distally, rarely sparsely villous or densely white-tomentose.
erect, green or tan to reddish green, terete, (3–)10–120(–190) cm, often thick, well branched or simple, subglabrous proximal to inflorescence with raised strigillose lines decurrent from margins of petioles, ± densely mixed strigillose and glandular puberulent distally, rarely densely strigillose or densely villous throughout.
opposite proximal to inflorescence, alternate distally, sessile and ± clasping stem;
blade elliptic-lanceolate to narrowly obovate or elliptic, 4–12(–23) × 0.3–4(–5) cm, base cuneate to attenuate, margins serrulate, 15–50 teeth per side, veins 6–9 per side, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse proximally, surfaces ± densely villous;
bracts moderately reduced.
opposite proximal to inflorescence, alternate distally, petiole 0–5(–10) mm, often subsessile distally, sometimes clasping;
blade narrowly obovate, obovate, broadly elliptic, or spatulate proximally, to very narrowly lanceolate to ovateor broadly elliptic distally, (1–)3–12(–16) × (0.2–)0.6–5.5 cm, base rounded to cuneate or short-attenuate, margins serrulate, (8–)15–40 irregular teeth per side, veins prominent, 4–10 per side, apex obtuse to acute or subacuminate, surfaces usually subglabrous with strigillose margins, rarely densely strigillose or villous;
bracts scarcely reduced to very reduced and narrower.
erect racemes or panicles, usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely tomentose.
usually erect, rarely nodding, racemes or panicles, well branched and open, to simple and congested, ± densely strigillose and glandular puberulent.
erect;
buds 5–9 × 1.8–4.5 mm, sometimes beaked;
pedicel 3–11 mm;
floral tube 1.3–2.9 × 2.2–4 mm, conspicuous ring of spreading hairs near mouth inside;
sepals oblong-linear, often keeled, 6–12 × 1–3 mm, abaxial surface densely pubescent;
petals bright pink to rose-purple, rarely white, broadly obcordate, 9–20 × 7–15 mm, apical notch 1–3 mm;
filaments white or pink, those of longer stamens 5–10 mm, those of shorter ones 2.5–6 mm;
anthers cream, 1.5–3 × 0.6–1.2 mm;
ovary 15–34 mm, densely villous and glandular puberulent;
style white or pink, 5–12 mm, usually glabrous, stigma deeply 4-lobed, 1.8–2.2 × 3–5.5 mm, lobes recurved or spreading, exserted beyond anthers.
erect;
buds 1.5–7 × 1–3 mm;
pedicel 2–14(–20) mm;
floral tube 0.5–2.6 × 0.9–3.5 mm, ring of spreading hairs at mouth inside;
sepals often reddish green, lanceolate, sometimes keeled, 2–7.5 × 0.7–2.5 mm;
petals white or pink to rose-purple, obovate, 2–14 × 1.3–6.3 mm, apical notch 0.4–2.5 mm;
filaments white to dark pink, those of longer stamens 1.4–7 mm, those of shorter ones 0.6–5.2 mm;
anthers light yellow to cream, 0.5–1.8 × 0.3–0.9 mm;
ovary often reddish green, 8–40 mm, ± densely mixed strigillose and glandular pubescent;
style cream to light yellow, 1.1–8.5 mm, stigma cream to orange-yellow, narrowly to broadly clavate or subcapitate, 0.8–2.8 × 0.4–1.2 mm, rarely indented apically, usually surrounded by, rarely exserted beyond, anthers.
often flushed purple, 25–90 mm, surfaces usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely glabrescent;
pedicel 5–20 mm.
erect, (15–)30–100 mm, surfaces usually strigillose and glandular puberulent, rarely glabrescent;
pedicel 2–15(–40) mm, rarely subsessile.
narrowly obovoid, 0.8–1.2 × 0.3–0.6 mm, chalazal collar inconspicuous, dark brown, surface coarsely papillose;
coma easily detached, tawny or dull white, 7–10 mm.
narrowly obovoid or subfusiform, (0.6–)0.8–1.6(–1.9) × 0.3–0.6 mm, chalazal collar ± conspicuous, 0.1–0.3 × 0.2–0.4 mm, grayish tan to brown, surface with conspicuous parallel longitudinal ridges of laterally flattened papillae;
coma readily detached, white or dingy white, 2–8 mm, very rarely absent.
= 36.
= 36.
Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium ciliatum
Epilobium hirsutum is very widespread in cool temperate Eurasia and montane regions, occurring throughout Europe except in the far north (P. H. Raven 1968), through the Caucasus and central Asia (E. I. Steinberg 1949) to Nepal (Raven 1962), China (Chen C. J. et al. 1992), and Japan (A. W. Lievens and P. C. Hoch 1999). It occurs as well along the Mediterranean coast of Africa, through East Africa to southern Africa, and in the Canary and Cape Verde Islands (Raven 1967).
Epilobium hirsutum exceeds almost all other species of the genus in stature, so its size, very large flowers, and densely villous aspect make it easy to identify. R. L. Stuckey (1970) provided a detailed account of the introduction and spread of E. hirsutum in North America, noting the earliest known collection (July 1829) was from Newport, Rhode Island. Most early collections appeared in waste areas, particularly near harbor ballast piles, although some may have been grown in gardens. By the 1890s this species was well established along the Atlantic coastal region from New Jersey and Philadelphia through New England, and around Niagara Falls in the Great Lakes region. During the twentieth century, E. hirsutum spread extensively in southern Ontario and Quebec, south along the Atlantic coast to Maryland, and to all of the states along the southern shores of the Great Lakes, most recently including Wisconsin (1970), and Indiana (1972). It occurs in much the same habitat as that of another, more widely publicized invader, Lythrum salicaria, and sometimes is recorded as a companion species. The earliest known collection in western North America was made in 1933 in Bingen (Klickitat County), Washington. Whether from that introduction or others, E. hirsutum is now naturalized and widespread in the Pacific Northwest. It also was reported recently from the Denver region in Colorado and near Midway in Utah.
Epilobium grandiflorum F. H. Wiggers and E. grandiflorum Allioni are illegitimate names that pertain here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).
Epilobium ciliatum, which has the AA chromosomal arrangement, shows extraordinary variation in morphology. It has the largest geographical range among North American Epilobium species, and has spread invasively outside of its native range. Although almost certainly originating in North America, E. ciliatum is also considered native in South America (J. C. Solomon 1982) and East Asia (Chen C. J. et al. 1992), but adventive in Europe and western Russia (P. H. Raven 1968), Pacific Islands, especially New Zealand, and Australia (Raven and T. E. Raven 1976). Its chromosomal affinities and morphological similarities to a small group of species in western North America strongly suggest that that region is its center of origin.
Within the enormous variation displayed by Epilobium ciliatum, three broadly defined entities can be recognized: subsp. watsonii, characteristically with bracts scarcely reduced on an extended, crowded corymbose inflorescence, found only along the Pacific coast, usually within sight of the ocean; subsp. glandulosum, generally large, few-branched plants with condensed turions just below ground and crowded inflorescences of relatively large rose-purple flowers, found mainly in damp, cool, and relatively undisturbed habitats; and subsp. ciliatum, which range from small and simple to large and well-branched, usually with leafy basal rosettes and open inflorescences, relatively narrow leaves and small white flowers, found most often in disturbed damp to dry habitats throughout the entire range of the species. These subspecies often intergrade in regions where their ranges overlap, resulting in populations with diverse mixtures of intermediate characters, yet the subspecies consistently retain their main morphological characteristics in populations throughout most of their respective ranges. Each shows some degree of endogenous variability, most notably in the very widespread subsp. ciliatum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf blades very narrowly lanceolate to narrowly ovate or elliptic, proximally narrowly obovate to spatulate; bracts very reduced on open inflorescence; petals 2–6(–9) mm, white or sometimes pink; herbs usually with rosettes, rarely fleshy turions. | subsp. ciliatum |
1. Leaf blades narrowly ovate to ovate to broadly elliptic, sometimes lanceolate, proximally obovate to broadly elliptic; bracts little reduced on crowded inflorescence; petals 4.5–12(–15) mm, usually rose-purple to pink, rarely white; herbs usually with fleshy turions or rosettes, rarely fleshy shoots. | → 2 |
2. Herbs usually with large, condensed subsessile turions 1–10 cm below ground, leaving dark scales, rarely with rosettes of fleshy leaves; inflorescences simple or branched, not corymbose. | subsp. glandulosum |
2. Herbs with leafy basal rosettes, sometimes fleshy shoots from woody caudex; inflorescences ± simple, subcorymbose. | subsp. watsonii |
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