Great Willow Herb.Epilobium angustifolium.Fire-weed.
Found by the wayside, and on newly cleared or burned lands, blossoming from June through August.
It has a simple, tall, and swaying stalk, from 3 to 6 feet high; it is round, and smooth, of a fine fibre, and inclined to red in color.
The long, narrow leaf has a general resemblance to that of the willow; it is smooth, firm, and fine in texture, and of a cool dark grayish-green color, and silvery beneath, with a light midrib. The leaves are alternate on the stalk, without foot-stems.
The 4 rounded petals of the flower curve into a short foot, or claw, at the base; they are of a fine and delicate texture, and a bright, clear crimson-pink color; the 4 long, pointed divisions of the red-brown calyx alternate with the pink petals; the pistil is 4-parted and curled spirally at the tip; the stamens 8. The flowers are poised on the top of the slender, silky, violet-tinged pods, and arranged in a loose, long, and curving spike, on the top of the stalk.
The plant gains its name of “Fire-weed” from its habit of springing up on newly burned woodlands. Seen in the sunshine its coloring is brilliant. Its long curving slender pods, bursting open lengthwise, set free a mass of fine silky down, the wings of the tiny seeds.