The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

codlins-and-cream, fiddle grass, fiddle grass willowherb, great or great hairy willowherb, great willowherb, hairy willlowherb, hairy willow-herb, épilobe hirsute

clavatefruit willowherb, club willowherb, club-fruit willowherb, club-pod willowherb, talus willow-herb

Habit Herbs usually robust and rank, sometimes woody near base, with thick, ropelike stolons to 1 m with scattered cataphylls and, often, terminal leafy rosette. Herbs with wiry, scaly soboles just below ground level, often with extended semi-woody rootstock.
Stems

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.

numerous, ascending, clumped, terete, 5–15(–22) cm, usually simple, rarely branched, subglabrous, with raised strigillose lines decurrent from petioles, ± densely strigillose and often mixed glandular puberulent distally.

Leaves

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.

crowded and opposite proximal to inflorescence, alternate distally, petiole 0–3 mm;

blade obovate proximally to ovate or elliptic distally, 0.5–2.8 ×0.6–1.6 cm, base attenuate proximally to obtuse distally, margins subentire to sparsely denticulate, 3–6 teeth per side, veins obscure, 2–4 per side, apex obtuse proximally to subacute distally, surfaces subglabrous or sparsely strigillose margins and abaxial midrib, sometimes subglaucous;

bracts not much reduced, sessile.

Inflorescences

erect racemes or panicles, usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely tomentose.

usually erect, rarely slightly nodding, racemes, strigillose and glandular puberulent, sometimes sparsely so.

Flowers

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 often purplish green, 3–4.5 × 1.4–2.2 mm;

pedicel 3–9 mm;

floral tube 0.6–2 × 1–2 mm, glabrous or with a raised ring of sparse hairs at mouth inside;

sepals often purplish green, 2.5–4.2 × 1–2 mm, abaxial surface sparsely glandular puberulent to subglabrous;

petals rose-purple to pale pink, obcordate, 3.5–6(–7) ×2–4 mm, apical notch 0.5–1 mm;

filaments cream, those of longer stamens 1.8–4 mm, those of shorter ones 1–3 mm;

anthers light yellow, 0.4–0.9 × 0.25–0.5 mm;

ovary often reddish purple, 8–20 mm, densely glandular puberulent, often mixed strigillose, rarely subglabrous;

style white or pale pink, 1.4–3.2 mm, glabrous, stigma cream, narrowly clavate to subcapitate, 0.8–1.4 × 0.3–0.8 mm, surrounded by at least longer anthers.

Capsules

often flushed purple, 25–90 mm, surfaces usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely glabrescent;

pedicel 5–20 mm.

often purplish red, 20–42 mm, surfaces sparsely pubescent or subglabrous;

pedicel 2–21 mm.

Seeds

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 fusiform, (1.3–)1.5–2.1 × 0.4–0.7 mm, chalazal collar conspicuous, 0.04–0.16 × 0.2–0.4 mm, blond, surface finely reticulate;

coma easily detached, white, 5–8 mm.

2n

= 36.

= 36.

Epilobium hirsutum

Epilobium clavatum

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Low wet areas along streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes, roadside ditches, along railroad tracks, marshes and swampy areas. Rocky crevices, scree slopes, ledges, stream banks, often near snow banks or moraines in upper montane to alpine zones.
Elevation 0–150[–3000] m. (0–500[–9800] ft.) 800–4200 m. (2600–13800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; CT; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; Eurasia; Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Epilobium clavatum shares a clumped habit and the CC chromosomal arrangement with related species in the Alpinae group, but differs from them by its dense, wiry mass of basal soboles arising from an extended and somewhat woody caudex and relatively thick capsules and large seeds (1.3–2 mm). This unusual habit morphology may be the result of growing on unstable, shifting scree slopes. Like E. anagallidifolium, with which it often grows in near-sympatry in alpine areas, it is of notably low stature, often less than 15 cm, and has subentire leaves and capsules rarely exceeding 4 cm. However, E. clavatum does not nod in bud, and generally is more robust than E. anagallidifolium, and it has a much smaller range, being endemic only to the western North American cordilleran region, whereas E. anagallidifolium has a discontinuous circumboreal range.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Epilobieae > Epilobium > sect. Epilobium Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Epilobieae > Epilobium > sect. Epilobium
Sibling taxa
E. anagallidifolium, E. arcticum, E. brachycarpum, E. campestre, E. canum, E. ciliatum, E. clavatum, E. cleistogamum, E. coloratum, E. davuricum, E. densiflorum, E. densum, E. foliosum, E. glaberrimum, E. hallianum, E. hornemannii, E. howellii, E. lactiflorum, E. leptocarpum, E. leptophyllum, E. luteum, E. minutum, E. mirabile, E. montanum, E. nevadense, E. nivium, E. obcordatum, E. obscurum, E. oreganum, E. oregonense, E. pallidum, E. palustre, E. parviflorum, E. rigidum, E. saximontanum, E. septentrionale, E. siskiyouense, E. smithii, E. suffruticosum, E. torreyi
E. anagallidifolium, E. arcticum, E. brachycarpum, E. campestre, E. canum, E. ciliatum, E. cleistogamum, E. coloratum, E. davuricum, E. densiflorum, E. densum, E. foliosum, E. glaberrimum, E. hallianum, E. hirsutum, E. hornemannii, E. howellii, E. lactiflorum, E. leptocarpum, E. leptophyllum, E. luteum, E. minutum, E. mirabile, E. montanum, E. nevadense, E. nivium, E. obcordatum, E. obscurum, E. oreganum, E. oregonense, E. pallidum, E. palustre, E. parviflorum, E. rigidum, E. saximontanum, E. septentrionale, E. siskiyouense, E. smithii, E. suffruticosum, E. torreyi
Synonyms Chamaenerion hirsutum, E. amplexicaule, E. aquaticum, E. hirsutum var. villosum, E. villosum E. alpinum var. clavatum
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 347. (1753) Trelease: Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 2: 111, plate 48. (1891)
Web links