Scientific Name

Epilobium angustifolium

Common Name

Rosebay Willow Herb. Other: Fireweed, Applepie, Bloodvine, Cat's eyes, Ranting widow, Tamewithy.

Type

Herbaceous perennial

Description

Upright spike of lancolate leaves with spray of crimson flowers.

Habitat

Waste ground, road sides, Untilled soil and burnt ground.

Folklore

Salad vegetable. Cures inflammation. Roots as flour. Alcoholic drink from flowers. Once rare it has colonised vast areas in the last 100 years. Important for bee keepers. Old leaves source of tannin.

Soil Type

Poor

Soil Fertility

Poor

Soil Moisture

Dry to damp

Soil pH

All

Sunlight

Full sun

Success

Profuse production of cotton dressed seeas dispersed by the wind. Creeping stems very invasive. Coloniser of burnt ground. Pollinated by bees.

Importance

Very persistent and quickly colonising weed.

Cultural Control

Cultural (1.2.) (1.5)

Chemical Control

(3.1.1a)