« Previous Day: Tropaeolum speciosum |
Main
| Next Day: Panda oleosa »
Jul 30, 2010: Chlorogalum pomeridianum
Jul 31, 2009:
Nepenthes rafflesiana
Jul 31, 2007:
Mentzelia hispida
Jul 31, 2006:
Mimulus guttatus
Jul 31, 2005:
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - Cacti Beds
September 26, 2009 : Chamerion angustifolium
Interested in subscribing? Visit the main Botany Photo of the Day page and fill out the form in the upper right corner!
Plant Family / Families: Onagraceae
Scientific Name and Author: Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub
Name Location: near Oulu, Finland
Lindsay wrote today's entry:
Thank you to Lassi Kalleinen, aka finnarct@Flickr, for submitting a wonderful capture of this near-worldwide staple (posted via the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool, original image)!
Found throughout North America, Europe, Asia and even parts of Africa, this roadside perennial depends on wind for seed dispersal and will establish quickly in open areas after a disturbance or fire, hence its common name, fireweed. Indeed, this brazen species was one of the first to colonize after Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980.
Fireweed has been prized by First Nations for its versatility: the Haida used the outer stem fibres of fireweed to make cord while the Coast Salish used the seed fluff for weaving and padding. When properly prepared soon after picking, the leaves are also a good source of vitamin C and provitamin-A. It also makes excellent honey! The Plants for a Future Database lists fireweed as traditionally having been used as an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, astringent, demulcent, emollient, hypnotic, laxative, poultice, and tonic.
A photograph of the plant is available in this previous BPotD posting: Chamerion angustifolium.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at September 26, 2009 8:00 AM
Comments
...or read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Posted by: ej at September 26, 2009 8:58 AM
I just love the fireweed! It is so stately. Here in Sweden it is also called the rose of the railroad builders (rallarros) as it appears along the disturbed soil on on the railroad banks.
The white form is "almost" allowed into the garden borders.
Posted by: Irma at September 26, 2009 9:26 AM
I thought Fireweed was Epilobium augustifolium.
Posted by: Dori at September 26, 2009 9:27 AM
EJ: I read that young shoots are taken and mixed with other leaves and steamed. The older leaves are tough and bitter. (I never tried to eat them.)
Posted by: Dori at September 26, 2009 9:40 AM
Thank you for the beautiful, beautiful photograph! I'll never look at Fireweed in the same way again.
Posted by: Alison at September 26, 2009 11:12 AM
As I know Chamaenerion angustifolium is an invalid name of this plant, the proper is Epilobium angustifolium L. 1753
Posted by: Abrimaal at September 26, 2009 11:45 AM
This is probably my favourite of all the pix I've seen on this site. Stunning! I've got to check out more photos of this plant. Absolutely gorgeous!
Posted by: Toni at September 26, 2009 1:30 PM
Very beautiful! Lovely soft, silvery filaments. Beautiful iridescence; you can almost see a rainbow.
Posted by: Mary Ann, in Toronto at September 26, 2009 3:32 PM
are we not lovely today
our very own fan dancer
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at September 26, 2009 3:42 PM
Dori and Abrimaal: While there is still some debate, most botanists now accept the name Chamerion angustifolium as the correct one for fireweed. Recent molecular studies show that the two groups (Epilobium and Chamerion) are very close, but separate. The article "Paraphyly in Tribe Onagreae: Insights into Phylogenetic Relationships of Onagraceae Based on Nuclear and Chloroplast Sequence Data" by R.A. Levin et al. (Systematic Botany 29(1):147-164. 2004) makes reference to the separation. In terms of morphology, Chamerion produces leaves in a spiral arrangement, while Epilobium species do not.
Posted by: Douglas Justice at September 26, 2009 4:55 PM
Douglas: Thanks for the clarification; I'll change it in our plant database.
Posted by: Gary in Olympia at September 26, 2009 8:15 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
Post a comment
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and associated images by UBC Botanical Garden staff are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Images and text by non-UBC contributors are copyright the respective photographers / authors (but often have Creative Commons licenses if contributed via Flickr).
About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums
Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Does anyone know the proper way to prepare leaves?