Hi there, I'm hoping someone familiar with Epilobiums in the Pacific Northwest can assist me: Are there any Epilobiums (native or otherwise) that strongly resemble E. augustifolium? Any that are that tall, with relatively sizeable four petalled pinkish flowers, strong veined leaves and so on? I have a good key here, which seems to tell me that there are no strongly similar species, but I've been finding variations in appearance (and taste) in large Fireweed which are causing me some doubt. thanks kindly for any responses, frog
Bear in mind that USDA, along with most other recent authorities, treats fireweeds in a separate genus Chamerion, for which two species are listed by USDA: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CHAME2 The most obvious difference is that Epilobium has opposite leaves, while Chamerion has spirally-arranged leaves.
Thank you both for this link and the new taxonomy! I was not aware of "Chamerion." It appears that some references are using these as a synonym for each other, and some are distinguishing the spiral vs. opposite leaf pattern between genera. I found a useful discussion of the two genera here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenbuchan/1801606278/in/pool-scottishwildflowers/ which, interestingly, also mentions the UBCBG forums. So, my question alters to: Are there any other Epilobium /Chamerion species in the PNW which very closely resemble Fireweed (augustifolium species)? thanks :-) frog
I would say there are none, since the difference spiral vs. opposite leaf arrangement precludes "very close" resemblance; thus everything in Epilobium (in its strict sense) can be excluded. This leaves just the two species in Chamerion; judging by the photos on the USDA site, those two differ markedly in leaf width, with C. latifolium having conspicuously broader leaves than C. angustifolium (as hinted by their scientific names, latus = broad, angustus = narrow). Thus if you have something that looks like C. angustifolium, it is C. angustifolium.
