GREAT HAIK'Y WILLOW HERB 



other Willow Herbs, Flags, Reeds, Sedges, and a 



host 



«9 

 oi other 



hygrophytes in the reed swamp. 



Though without so conspicuous a flower as the Rosebay, it is a 

 taller, more abundant gregarious i)lani. and has so delicious a scent 

 that it is e(jually i)0[)ular. 

 It is tall, erect, branched, 

 with undergroimd stolons 

 or creeping shoots, with 

 the upper leaves lance - 

 shaped, alternate, clasp- 

 ing, verv 



like 

 the 

 th.- 

 and 

 with 



woolly, 



the stem (hence 



second Latin ant 



Elnglish names), 



slightly bordered 



small teeth. 



Xumerous and large, 

 the riow'crs are purple, 

 bell -shaped, and partly 

 drooping. The white 

 anthers are long and 

 awl-sha[)ed. The caly.v 

 is deeply divided, angu- 

 lar, erect, finely hairy 

 inside below. The pe- 

 tals are inversely heart- 

 shaped, white at the 

 base, and twice as long 

 as the calyx. The flowers 

 are regular, with erect 

 style and stamens. The 

 tuberculate i)ale - brow n 

 seeds, downy one side, 

 enclosed in a j)od, are 

 acute below. 



The Great Hairy Willow Herb forms dense brakes 6 ft. high. 

 The flowers are in bloom during July and August. The plant is a 

 herbaceous perennial, and freely reproduced by roots or stoles. The 

 llowcrs are large, being 25-30 mm. across, and make a good show 

 when growing in a clum]). The stigmas and anthers ripen together, 

 and the plant is capable of self-pollination. liut cro.ss-pollination is 



I'holo. II lr»i;if; 



("iRK.M H.\IU\' Wll.I.ow Hkri? [Epilobiuiii liirsii/iiiii. L.) 



