Rosebay Willowherb / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible

Common names

Rosebay Willowherb, Fireweed

Botanical name

Chamerion angustifolium

Scientific Classification

Kingdom – Plantae

Order –Myrtales 

Family – Onagraceae

Physical Characteristics for Rosebay Willowherb 

Leaves

Starts as a rosette of lance-shaped leaves, which then becomes a tall stalk. The leaves are long, narrow, and willow-like, with a red base or a red flush.

Flowers

The flowers form in a cluster at the top of the stalk and each is a deep pink colour with four petals.

Seeds

After pollination, seed pods develop that split revealing a white “fluff”, within which the seeds are carried on the wind.

Habitat 

Disturbed soil, waste ground, woodland clearings, garden borders, and fire sites. It is an early pioneer plant and often the first to return after a fire, which is where one of its common names, Fireweed, comes from.

Known hazards

Said to produce a stupefying effect if too much is consumed.

Could be confused with

Other Willowherbs, but Rosebay Willowherb has much narrower leaves

Edible use

The young shoots can be steamed and eaten like asparagus, and the leaves can be added to salads. However, raw leaves can be bitter. The flowers can also be added to salads and are less bitter.

The pith can be removed from the stem and used as a thickener for soups and stews

Notes on Herbal uses

Has been used as an intestinal astringent and as an antispasmodic in asthma attacks, respiratory infections, and hiccups.
Please visit your doctor if you have a medical complaint

Extra notes from the Foragers

After the eruption of Mount St Helens in the USA, over 81% of the first plants to appear were Fireweed/Rosebay Willowherb.

The stems are used to make useful bushcraft cordage, while the fluffy seed heads make great tinder.

In Russia, the flowering of Rosebay Willowherb is said to indicate the disappearance of summer and its full bloom indicates the start of autumn

The first part, Chamerion, comes from the Greek words for low to the ground, chamai, and oldeander, nerion. Angustifolium is derived from Latin words for narrow, angustus, and leaves, folium.