Chamerion angustifolium

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)

The Rosebay Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium ) is a plant of the family Onagraceae ( Onagraceae ). It is also called perennial herb fire, forest fireweed or willow herb forest impact.

The German botanist Christian Konrad Sprengel discovered in 1790 in this type of cross-pollination.

• 6.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The Rosebay willow herb grows as a deciduous, perennial herbaceous plant, reaching heights of growth of usually 50 to 120, rarely up to 200 centimeters. It forms a widely creeping rhizome as Überdauerungsorgan. The upright, rounded in cross-section to blunt -edged and usually unbranched stems are glabrous or only slightly hairy and stained dark purple to the tip.

The alternate arranged leaves are short-stalked. The simple leaf blade is narrow lanceolate with a length of about 5 to 20 centimeters and a width of 1 to 2.5 centimeters. The blue- green colored leaf underside has clearly protruding veins. The weakly calloused, serrated leaf edge is bent downward.

Generative features

The flowering period extends from June to August. The numerous flowers are arranged in a long, terminal, racemose inflorescence. In contrast to the mostly radial symmetry of many flowers fireweed species, the flowers of the narrow-leaved willow are zygomorphic; this property is by gravity related ( gravitropism ). The pink to purple flowers are about 2 to 3 inches wide. The four sepals are linear. The four lighter colored petals are broadly rounded to slightly emarginate and nailed short. The on base usually somewhat hairy style ends in a four-part scar.

The fruit capsule slender, long, red fachspaltig and crowded. When popping the flaps roll back a bit. The tiny seeds are durable.

Ecology

Vegetative propagation is by root sprouts and by branches of the rhizome. Through their rhizomes the Narrow willow-herb is considered an important soil stabilizer.

The Aufblühfolge is from bottom to top, so that the cross-pollination is assured. There are, therefore, at the same buds, flowers and fruit on a plant. Pollinators are particularly Hymenoptera. The numerous flowers serve as a good bee pasture.

The seeds have a long hair and can thus reach than typical Schirmchenflieger with a settling velocity of 20 cm / second flight distances of at least 10 kilometers. Hundreds of thousands of seeds are produced per plant, which very quickly new areas such as clearcuts can be colonized.

Occurrence

The Rosebay Willowherb is widespread circumpolar in the northern hemisphere. The deposits reach far to the north, in Europe until well into Scandinavia. In the Alps, the Rosebay Willowherb (in the Western Alps up to 2500 meters) to be found from the valley at altitudes of 2000 meters.

As a location preferred this Rohbodenpionier clearcuts, banks, slopes, rock and scree, rubble land and waste places in general. The kalkmeidende light plant thrives on fresh, loamy, rich soil.

Especially after shock or forest fires can spread very quickly to the resulting clearing. From this property, the English name " Fireweed " is derived from, which is common in Alaska and Canada. Thus we find Epilobium angustifolium in the coat of arms of the Canadian Yukon Territory.

Due to its properties as a pioneer plant, the Narrow- fireweed increased greatly on the caused by air raids and ground battles of World War II urban rubble and debris surfaces. The earlier in urban areas unfamiliar or unknown plants of waste places - but especially the narrow-leaved willow herb - received the popular name of debris flowers.

System

The first publication of this kind took place in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 1, 347 S. angustifolium under the name Epilobium. In 1972, she was by Josef Holub in Folia et Geobotánica Phytotaxonomica, 7 ( 1 ), pp. 86 under the name Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub in the genus Chamerion ( Raf. ) Raf. ex Holub asked. Another synonym is Epilobium spicatum Lam ..

From Chamerion angustifolium at least two subspecies are recognized:

• Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub subsp. angustifolium
• Chamerion angustifolium subsp. circumvagum ( Mosquin ) High

Use

The young under - and above-ground plant parts can be similarly prepared the asparagus in a salad or vegetables. Young, tender leaves are indeed sour in taste (rich in vitamin C), but they can mix with mild herbs or enjoy as a tea blend (also called " Coptic tea " known). Bees collect the pollen of Epilobium angustifolium, are to provide highly aromatic honey. In particular, the underground plant parts are rich in tannins and mucilage. In the past ( and to some extent still is) fireweed candle wicks were woven from the seeds of narrow-leaved.

The North American Haida of British Columbia and Alaska processed the outer fibers of the stems for the manufacture of ropes, from which they in turn knüpften fishing nets. Other Indians used the seeds long hair in order to weave together with goat wool blankets and cloaks.

Swell

• Xaver Finkenzeller, Jürke Grey: alpine flowers. Identify and determine ( = Steinbach nature guide ). Mosaic, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-576-11482-3.
• Manfred A. Fischer, Wolfgang Adler, Karl Oswald: Exkursionsflora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. Second, improved and expanded edition. Province of Upper Austria, Biology Centre of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2005, ISBN 3-85474-140-5.
• Ruprecht Duell, Herfried Kutzelnigg: Pocket Dictionary of Plants in Germany. A botanical and ecological excursion companion to the most important species. 6 completely revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7.
• Fireweed. In: FloraWeb.de. ( Description section )