Fireweed, a plant we need
From the Colorado Native Plant Society blog post published 4/27/24.
by Pam Sherman
On a summer hike in a burn area, people point to pink-purple understory patches and ask, “What’s that?” After a fire, this native perennial re-carpets our land in striking stands. Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium, was one of the top-producing plants re-colonizing Mount St. Helens volcano a year after its massive eruption and fire in 1980. In World War II Great Britain it earned the moniker “bombweed” because it blossomed in magenta opulence from the grey dreary ashes of London after the fire bombings. (The buildings having been mostly wood, the postwar conditions were akin to a burned forest). It’s also known as “St. Anthony’s laurel,” said to be one of the plants St. Anthony used for healing.
Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium, was one of the top-producing plants re-colonizing Mount St. Helens volcano a year after its massive eruption and fire in 1980. In World War II Great Britain it earned the moniker “bombweed” because it blossomed in magenta opulence from the grey dreary ashes of London after the fire bombings. (The buildings having been mostly wood, the postwar conditions were akin to a burned forest). It’s also known as “St. Anthony’s laurel,” said to be one of the plants St. Anthony used for healing.
It’s very genetically diverse, and has savvy reproductive strategies. It graces, and confounds home landscapes with these wild ways. All good reasons to take note of this plant, which will continue to companion us into the foreseeable future. Here we’ll look more closely at fireweed’s (1) botany (2) ecology (3) ecosystem restoration potential on the land and in the home native plant-pollinator garden and landscape (4) other human uses – food, fiber, medicine. (5) We’ll also note invasive plants with which fireweed can been confused on first glance – purple loosestrife, dame’s rocket, and hairy willowherb.