Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub Fireweed
Fireweed is a North American native plant. It is a robust colonizer of newly exposed land, such as that left behind from forest fires, and can carpet huge areas with its brilliant pink flowers. Plants: 1½-8′ (50-250 cm) in height, with a single, erect stem that reddens later in the season, sometimes branching to multiple flower spikes. Leaves: Leaves are 2½-6″ (7-15 cm) long, with smooth edges, and are long and narrow, tapering to sharp tips. The leaf veins form distinctive circular loops. Flowers: Flower spikes are 4-10″ (10-25 cm) long, with pink flowers about ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter, each with four petals. Fruits: Seed pods are reddish-brown, about 1½″ (3.8 cm) long, splitting and curling when dry to expose silken fibers and about 80,000 seeds per plant. Fireweed has a dwarf sibling with similar-appearing flowers: |
8/26/2007 · Fogarty Creek, Lincoln City, Oregon 9/27/2013 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (47 × 31 cm) 8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm) |
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You are here Chamerion angustifolium |
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Common Name | ![]() |
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Plant | 1½-8′ (50-250 cm) in height, with a single, erect stem that reddens later in the season, sometimes branching to multiple flower spikes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Flowers | Flower spikes are 4-10″ (10-25 cm) long, with pink flowers about ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter, each with four petals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leaves | 2½-6″ (7-15 cm) long, with smooth edges, and are long and narrow, tapering to sharp tips. The leaf veins form distinctive circular loops. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fruit | Seed pods are reddish-brown, about 1½″ (3.8 cm) long, splitting and curling when dry to expose silken fibers and about 80,000 seeds per plant. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Range/ Zones |
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Habitats | Newly exposed land, such as that left behind from forest fires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Wild |
Edibility: Although young shoots and flowers are edible, young plants are easily confused with several highly toxic members of the lily family, so we don't recommend that you experiment.
Online References:
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database
SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine
9/1/2007 · Mt. St. Helens, Washington
8/2/2008 · Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm)
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)
8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)
8/25/2007 · Tillamook State Forest, Oregon
8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 15″ (25 × 37 cm)
Chamerion angustifolium description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 31 Aug 2021.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 23 cm)
8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm)
8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 12 cm)
9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)
11/18/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)
9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 10 × 15″ (26 × 39 cm)
9/27/2013 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm)
Range: Zones 2-7: