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| − | {{Redirect|Fireweed|other uses|Fireweed (disambiguation)}}
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| | |name = Rosebay willowherb or fireweed | | |name = Rosebay willowherb or fireweed |
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| − | '''''Chamaenerion angustifolium''''', commonly known in North America as '''fireweed''', in some parts of Canada as '''great willowherb''',<ref>ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto:McClelland and Stewart Ltd., 2004.</ref> and in Britain as '''rosebay willowherb''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{cite web|title=BSBI List 2007 |publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland |url=http://www.bsbi.org.uk/BSBIList2007.xls |format=xls |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6VqJ46atN?url=http://www.bsbi.org.uk/BSBIList2007.xls |archive-date=2015-01-25 |accessdate=2014-10-17 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref> is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[herb]]aceous [[plant]] in the willowherb family [[Onagraceae]]. It is also known by the [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonyms]] ''Chamerion angustifolium'' and ''Epilobium angustifolium''. It is native throughout the temperate [[Northern Hemisphere]], including large parts of the [[boreal forest]]s. | + | '''Fireweed''' |
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| − | This species has been placed in the genus ''Chamaenerion'' (sometimes given as ''Chamerion'') rather than ''[[Epilobium]]'' based on several morphological distinctions: spiral (rather than opposite or whorled) [[leaf]] arrangement; absence (rather than presence) of a [[hypanthium]]; [[subequal]] [[stamen]]s (rather than stamens in two unequal whorls); [[Floral symmetry|zygomorphic]] (rather than actinomorphic) stamens and [[Stigma (botany)|stigma]]. Under this taxonomic arrangement, ''Chamaenerion'' and ''Epilobium'' are [[monophyly|monophyletic]] sister genera.<ref name="Wagner_etal_2007">{{cite book |author=Warren L. Wagner |author2=Peter C. Hoch |author3=Peter H. Raven |last-author-amp=yes |year=2007 |title=Revised classification of the Onagraceae |series=[[Systematic Botany Monographs]] |volume=83 |pages=1–243 |hdl=10088/7611 |publisher=American Society of Plant Taxonomists |isbn=978-0-912861-83-8}}</ref>
| + | [[Category:Onagraceae]] |
| − | | + | [[Category:Plants for Keenan to eat]] |
| − | Two [[subspecies]] are recognized as valid:<ref name="Wagner_etal_2007"/>
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| − | * ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' subsp. ''angustifolium''<!-- no authority, by autonymy -->
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| − | * ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' subsp. ''circumvagum'' <small>(Mosquin) Hoch</small>
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| − | ==Etymology==
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| − | The specific epithet ''angustifolium'' ('narrowleaved') is constructed from the Latin words ''angustus'' meaning 'narrow' and ''folium'' meaning 'leaved' or 'leaf'. It shares this name with other species of plant including ''[[Vaccinium angustifolium]]''. The common British name, from the passing resemblance of the flowers to (wild) roses and the leaves to those of bay, goes back in print to [[John Gerard|Gerard's]] ''Herball'' of 1597.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary</ref> The common name 'fireweed' derives from the species' abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after [[wildfire|forest fires]].
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| − | ==Description==
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| − | The reddish stems of this herbaceous perennial are usually simple, erect, smooth, 0.5–2.5 m (1½–8 feet) high with scattered alternate leaves. The leaves are spirally arranged, entire, narrowly lanceolate, and pinnately veined, the secondary leaf veins [[Glossary of botanical terms#Anastomose|anastomosing]], joining together to form a continuous marginal vein just inside the leaf margins.<ref name=Poland>{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Poland |first2=Eric J. |last2=Clement |date=2009 |title=The vegetative key to the British flora |publisher=John Poland and [[BSBI]] |location=Southampton, U.K. |isbn=978-0-9560144-0-5 }}</ref>{{rp|NQ}}
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| − | The inflorescence is a symmetrical terminal raceme that blooms progressively from bottom to top, producing a gracefully tapered shape. The flowers are 2 to 3 cm in diameter, slightly [[Floral symmetry#Zygomorphic|asymmetrical]], with four magenta to pink petals and four narrower pink sepals behind. The protruding style has four stigmas. The [[floral formula]] is ✶/↓ K4 C4 A4+4 or 4+0 Ğ(4).<ref name="craene">{{Cite book |last = Ronse De Craene |first = Louis P. |date = 2010-02-04 |title = Floral Diagrams: An Aid to Understanding Flower Morphology and Evolution |publisher = Cambridge University Press |location = Cambridge |isbn = 978-0-521-49346-8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=24p-LgWPA50C |page = 209}}</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Fireweed Epilobium angustifolium one flower close.jpg|thumb|Fireweed flower close-up]]
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| − | The upright, reddish-brown linear seed capsule splits from the apex and curls open. It bears many minute brown seeds, about 300 to 400 per capsule and 80,000 per plant. The seeds have silky hairs to aid wind dispersal and are very easily spread by the wind, often becoming a weed and a dominant species on disturbed ground. Once established, the plants also spread extensively by underground roots, an individual plant eventually forming a large patch.
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| − | ==Ecology==
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| − | [[Image:Fireweed Epilobium angustifolium on rock sky.jpg|thumb|On granite]]
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| − | [[Image:Epilobium angustifolium Fireweed seed stage tall.jpg|thumb|left|Capsule & seed stage]]
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| − | [[File:Chamaenerion angustifolium ssp. circumvagum 1.jpg|thumb|right|''C. angustifolium'' thrives in areas cleared by fire.]]
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| − | [[File:Bombus lucorum - Epilobium angustifolium - Keila.jpg|thumb|White-tailed bumblebee on a flower]]
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| − | ===Disturbance ecology===
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| − | Fireweed is often abundant in wet [[calcareous]] to slightly acidic soils in open fields, pastures, and particularly burned-over lands. It is a [[pioneer species]] that quickly colonizes open areas with little competition, such as the sites of forest fires and [[forest clearing]]s. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light. Fireweed reaches its average peak colonization after 5 years and then begins to be replaced as trees and brush grow larger. Seeds remain viable in the soil seed bank for many years.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} When a new fire or other disturbance occurs that opens up the ground to light again, the seeds germinate. Some areas with heavy seed counts in the soil can, after burning, be covered with pure dense stands of this species and when in flower the landscape is turned into fields of color.
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| − | Fireweed is an effective colonizer; it may not be present until after a fire has moved through a landscape. Because of its very high dispersal capacity, "propagule pressure" from its regional presence will let it quickly colonize a disturbed area. Once seedlings are established, the plant quickly reproduces and covers the disturbed area via seeds and rhizomes. It is somewhat adapted to fire as well and so can prevent the reintroduction of fire to the landscape. Fireweed is well adapted to seed in severely burned areas as well, because the mineral soil that is exposed due to the removal of organic soil layers provides a good seedbed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/chamerion_angustifolium.shtml|title=Fireweed|website=www.fs.fed.us|access-date=2017-12-11}}</ref>
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| − | In Britain the plant was considered a rare species in the 18th century,<ref name="floraB">''Flora Britannica'', Richard Mabey, {{ISBN|978-1-85619-377-1}}</ref> and one confined to a few locations with damp, gravelly soils. It was misidentified as [[Epilobium hirsutum|great hairy willowherb]] in contemporary floras. The plant's rise from local rarity to widespread abundance seems to have occurred at the same time as the expansion of the railway network and the associated soil disturbance. The plant became locally known as ''bombweed'' due to its rapid colonization of bomb craters in the second world war.<ref name="floraB"/>
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| − | ===Pollination===
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| − | The flowers are visited by a wide variety of insects (the generalised [[pollination syndrome]]).<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/plb.12328| pmid = 25754608| title = Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers| journal = Plant Biology | year = 2016| last1 = Van Der Kooi | first1 = C. J.| last2 = Pen | first2 = I.| last3 = Staal | first3 = M.| last4 = Stavenga | first4 = D. G.| last5 = Elzenga | first5 = J. T. M. |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=56–62}}</ref> Some species in the [[Lepidoptera]] order of insects frequently use the willowherb as its primary habitat. One example of this is the moth species ''[[Deilephila elpenor]]'', in which females lay their eggs on the plant and the emerging larvae feed on its leaves.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=XZPSBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA338&lpg=PA338&dq=deilephila+elpenor#v=onepage&q=deilephila%20elpenor&f=false|title=Pests of Fruit Crops: A Colour Handbook, Second Edition|last=Alford|first=David V.|date=2016-04-19|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781482254211|language=en}}</ref>
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| − | ==Land management==
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| − | Because of its rapid establishment on disturbed land, fireweed can be used for land management purposes. Events such as logging, fires and mass wasting can leave the land barren and without vegetation. This causes the land to be more susceptible to erosion because of the lack of root structure in the soil. Fireweed is a useful tool that can be utilized after prescribed fires and logging events because of its fire resistance and ability to recycle the nutrients left in the soil after a fire.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pinno|first=Bradley D.|last2=Landhäusser|first2=Simon M.|last3=Chow|first3=Pak S.|last4=Quideau|first4=Sylvie A.|last5=MacKenzie|first5=M. Derek|date=2013-10-28|title=Nutrient uptake and growth of fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) on reclamation soils|url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/cjfr-2013-0091|journal=Canadian Journal of Forest Research|volume=44|issue=1|pages=1–7|doi=10.1139/cjfr-2013-0091|issn=0045-5067}}</ref> It is also able to quickly establish a root system for reproduction and through this can prevent mass wasting and erosion events from occurring on burned or logged hillsides. Reestablishment of vegetation is crucial in the recovery time of disturbed lands. In many cases, fireweed establishes itself on these disturbed lands, but implementing the introduction of fireweed to a disturbed area as a management practice could prove useful in speeding up the recovery of disturbed lands. Disturbed and burned over lands are generally unpleasant to look at and pose a risk to habitats and nearby communities because of their susceptibility to mass wasting events. Fireweed can quickly establish itself across the landscape and prevent further damage, while providing a blanket of vegetation for recovering fauna to create new habitats in and for pollinators to foster the re-establishment of a diverse set of flora.<ref name=":0" />
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| − | ==Uses==
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| − | [[File:Chamerion angustifolium (inflorescense) fermented tea.jpg|thumb|Inflorescence used as fermented tea]]
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| − | Traditionally the young shoots are collected in the spring by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] people and mixed with other greens. As the plant matures the leaves become tough and somewhat bitter. The southeast Native Americans use the stems in this stage. They are peeled and eaten raw.<ref>{{FEIS |genus=Chamaenerion |species=angustifolium |type=forb |last=Pavek |first=Diane S. |date=1992}}</ref> When properly prepared soon after picking they are a good source of [[vitamin C]] and [[vitamin A|pro-vitamin A]]. The [[Dena'ina]] add fireweed to their dogs' food. Fireweed is also a medicine of the Upper Inlet Dena'ina, who treat [[pus]]-filled boils or cuts by placing a piece of the raw stem on the afflicted area. This is said to draw the pus out of the cut or boil and prevents a cut with pus in it from healing over too quickly.
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| − | The root can be roasted after scraping off the outside, but often tastes bitter. To mitigate this, the root is collected before the plant flowers and the brown thread in the middle removed.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ediblewildfood.com/fireweed.aspx}}</ref>
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| − | In [[Alaska]], [[candy|candies]], [[syrup]]s, [[fruit preserves|jellies]], and even [[ice cream]] are made from fireweed. [[Monofloral honey]] made primarily from fireweed [[nectar source|nectar]] has a distinctive, spiced flavor.
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| − | In [[Russia]], its leaves were traditionally used as a tea, before the introduction of tea from China starting in the 17th Century, it was greatly valued and was exported in large quantities to [[Western Europe]] as [[:ru:Копорский чай|Koporye Tea]] ''(Копорский чай)'', Russian Tea or Ivan Chai.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Ivan Chai|url = http://realsproject.org/ivan-chai/|website = REALS - Resilient and Ecological Approaches for Living Sustainably|accessdate = 2015-11-02|language = en}}</ref> Fireweed leaves can undergo [[fermentation (tea)|fermentation]], much like real [[tea]]. Today, koporye tea or Ivan Chai is still commonly sold and consumed in Russia, though it is not nearly as popular as it was in Pre-Soviet Russia.
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| − | Fireweed's natural variation in [[polyploid|ploid]]y has prompted its use in scientific studies of polyploidy's possible effects on adaptive potential<ref>{{cite journal |last=Martin |first=Sara L. |author2=Husband, Brian C. |title=Adaptation of diploid and tetraploid Chamerion angustifolium to elevation but not local environment |journal=[[Evolution (journal)|Evolution]] |date=1 March 2013 |doi=10.1111/evo.12065 |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.12065/abstract |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=1780–1791 |pmid=23730769}}</ref> and species diversification.<ref>{{cite web|last=Husband|first=Brian C.|title=University of Guelph Department of Integrative Biology, Dr. Brian C. Husband|url=http://www.uoguelph.ca/ib/people/faculty/husband.shtml|accessdate=24 April 2013}}</ref>
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| − | Because fireweed can colonize disturbed sites, even following an old oil spill, it is often used to reestablish vegetation.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
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| − | It is also grown as an [[ornamental plant]]. A white form, ''C. angustolium'' 'Album' is listed by the Royal Horticultural Society<ref name=RHS>{{cite web |title=Royal Horticultural Society: ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' 'Album' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=416 |accessdate=23 February 2017 }}</ref>
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| − | ==Depictions in human culture==
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| − | Fireweed is the [[floral emblem]] of [[Yukon]].
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| − | Rosebay Willowherb was voted the [[County flowers of the United Kingdom|County flower]] of [[London]] in 2002 following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity [[Plantlife]].<ref>[http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/county_flowers/ ''County Flowers page''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430170312/http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/county_flowers/ |date=2015-04-30 }}</ref>
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| − | ==References==
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| − | {{Reflist|30em}}
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | {{Commons category|Chamerion angustifolium}}
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| − | *[http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CHAN9 USDA Plants profile for ''Chamerion angustifolium'' (fireweed)]
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| − | *[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Chamerion+angustifolium Calflora Database: ''Chamerion angustifolium'' (fireweed)]
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| − | *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=80417 Jepson Manual eFlora treatment of ''Chamerion angustifolium'']
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| − | *{{ITIS|id=510756|taxon=''Chamerion angustifolium''}}
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| − | *[http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/waflora/checklist.php?Taxon=Chamerion%20angustifolium%20ssp.%20circumvagum Washington Flora Checklist]
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| − | *[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?lin=s&p=has_linkout&id=13055 NCBI: ''Chamerion angustifolium'']
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| − | *{{GRIN | name = ''Chamerion angustifolium'' (L.) Holub| id = 410680 | accessdate = 2012-10-05}}
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| − | *Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, {{ISBN|0-87842-359-1}}
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| − | *[http://www.northernbushcraft.com/plants/fireweed/notes.htm Northernbushcraft.com: Edibility of Fireweed] — ''visual identification and edible parts''.
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| − | {{Taxonbar|from=Q160104}}
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| − | [[Category:Chamaenerion|angustifolium]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Alaska]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of California]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Canada]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of North America]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Cascade Range]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the North-Central United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Rocky Mountains]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.)]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Western United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the West Coast of the United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
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