Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium nivium
codlins-and-cream, fiddle grass, fiddle grass willowherb, great or great hairy willowherb, great willowherb, hairy willlowherb, hairy willow-herb, épilobe hirsute
Snow Mountain 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.
erect or ascending, terete, 10–25 cm, sparsely branched distally, densely grayish white-strigillose.
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.
subsessile or petioles 0.5–2.5 mm, blade elliptic or narrowly so to lanceolate, often folded along midrib, 0.9–1.8 × 0.3–0.7 cm, usually longer than internodes, base rounded to cuneate, margins subentire or low denticulate, 1–3 low teeth per side, lateral veins inconspicuous, 1–3 per side, apex blunt to acute with conspicuous dark brown mucronate tip, surfaces densely spreading-hairy;
bracts very reduced, attached to pedicel 1–2 mm from base.
erect racemes or panicles, usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely tomentose.
erect open racemes or panicles, densely spreading-hairy.
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 6–8 × 2.5–3.2 mm;
floral tube 5.2–9.5 × 2.4–3.2 mm, constriction 4–6 mm distal to base, base ± bulbous, spreading-hairy from mouth nearly to base inside;
sepals 2.7–4.2 × 1.6–2 mm, abaxial surface densely villous and glandular puberulent;
petals rose-purple, 6–9.5 ×3.8–6.2 mm, apical notch 1.5–2.5 mm;
filaments light pink, those of longer stamens 5–6.5 mm, those of shorter ones 3–3.5 mm;
anthers 1.3–2.1 × 0.6–0.9 mm, apiculate;
ovary 2.5–4.5 mm, densely villous and glandular puberulent;
style pinkish cream, 11–17 mm, glabrous, stigma 4-lobed, 0.8–1 × 1.1–2.1 mm, lobes often not spread and then cuplike, usually exserted beyond anthers.
often flushed purple, 25–90 mm, surfaces usually densely villous and glandular puberulent, rarely glabrescent;
pedicel 5–20 mm.
fusiform, 8–16 mm, surfaces glandular puberulent;
pedicel 2–5 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.
obovoid to broadly so, with slight constriction 0.4–0.6 mm from micropylar end, 1.5–2.4 × 0.8–1.3 mm, inconspicuous chalazal collar, dark brown, surface papillose;
coma easily detached, dingy white, 6.5–7.5 mm.
= 36.
= 30.
Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium nivium
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 nivium has an extremely restricted range, mainly in the Snow Mountain region of Colusa and Lake counties, but recent collections from Mendocino and southern Trinity counties have extended its range several hundred km to the north. Many collections, notably including the type gathering, have strikingly woody bases, suggesting that these are long-lived plants. Like E. nevadense and some other species in the genus that characteristically grow on scree slopes, the lower part of the stems often lack leaves, which may be abraded by movement of the rocky substrate.
As reported by S. R. Seavey and P. H. Raven (1977c) and also noted on some herbarium labels, capsules of Epilobium nivium sometimes show signs of possible seed predation by moth larvae as reported for E. nevadense.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
Go Botany
IL Wildflowers
MD Biodiversity
MI Flora
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
