Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium howellii
codlins-and-cream, fiddle grass, fiddle grass willowherb, great or great hairy willowherb, great willowherb, hairy willlowherb, hairy willow-herb, épilobe hirsute
subalpine fireweed, yuba pass willowherb
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.
delicate, erect, loosely clumped, terete, 5–20 cm, simple or branched from base, densely glandular puberulent, without decurrent lines.
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, subsessile;
blade broadly obovate to orbiculate proximally to ovate or lanceolate distally, 0.4–2 × 0.3–1.2 cm, base cuneate to rounded, margins finely denticulate, 4–6 low teeth per side, veins indistinct, 2–6 per side, apex obtuse to subacute distally, surfaces subglabrous with strigillose margins and veins or both surfaces sparsely strigillose distally;
bracts much reduced and narrower.
erect racemes or panicles, usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely tomentose.
erect, open racemes, 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.
sometimes cleistogamous;
buds 2–3.5x 1–1.5 mm, often nodding;
pedicel 8–16 mm;
floral tube 0.4–0.8 × 0.5–1 mm, ring of sparse hairs at mouth inside, or absent;
sepals 1.5–2 × 0.8–1 mm;
petals white, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm, apical notch 0.4–0.5 mm;
filaments white, those of longer stamens 1.8–3 mm, those of shorter ones 1–1.5 mm;
anthers 0.3–0.4 ×0.3–0.4 mm;
ovary 9–12 mm, sparsely glandular puberulent;
style white, 2–3 mm, stigma white, narrowly clavate, entire, 0.5–0.6 × 0.4–0.5 mm, surrounded by anthers.
often flushed purple, 25–90 mm, surfaces usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely glabrescent;
pedicel 5–20 mm.
35–45 mm, surfaces subglabrous to sparsely glandular puberulent;
pedicel 25–40 mm.
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 oblanceoloid, 0.8–1.1 × 0.3–0.4 mm, chalazal collar inconspicuous, surface low papillose;
coma easily detached, dingy white, 3–6 mm.
= 36.
= 36.
Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium howellii
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 howellii is an enigmatic species in that it was apparently overlooked until relatively recently by numerous botanists in the Sierra Nevada in Fresno, Mono, and Sierra counties. Its similarity to many of the smaller species of Epilobium, especially in the Alpinae group, may have caused this oversight; it is very clearly distinguished from similar species by its exclusively glandular puberulent stems. Recent focused collecting efforts mainly by United States Forest Service personnel have shown that it is much more widespread than originally thought, although still uncommon, and its geographical and ecological range is still quite restricted compared to most other species of Epilobium.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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