Wild Fringed Willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum)

Reported is an impressive example of wild deciduous Fringed Willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum) (Onagraceae) in a greenbelt area of the West Midlands in Britain. Some species are invasive after been introduced from America. It is a fast-growing, clump-forming herbaceous perennial growing up to 1.5m high, with narrowly ovate, finely toothed green leaves often tinged with red and numerous small, trumpet-shaped pink, red, white, blue or purple flowers in terminal racemes and radially symmetrical. They have four petals, sepals or tepals per flower with eight stamens. It grows best in well-illuminated areas and spreads rapidly, usually maturing in ten weeks. The fruit is dry and splits open when ripe (40-100mm long). It is a widespread native of North America, and a fringed willow-herb often regarded as a weed in gardens and nurseries. It is self-compatible and some anthers may touch the stigmas, insuring high seed set. As in other willow-herbs, the plumed seeds are light and widely dispersed by wind. Its natural habitat includes forests, meadows and fields, ridges or ledges, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands). The leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets), arranged as two leaves per node along the stem, with the leaf blade edges possessing fine teeth.

Posted on July 31, 2024 10:58 AM by rgcooper2023