Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 223 



EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY (Onagraceae). 



A family of herbs or shrubs with perfect, usually 

 four-parted flowers, four petals, four sepals, four or 

 eight stamens and a two or four-parted stigma. 



GREAT WILLOW-HERB; FIREWEED (Epilobium 

 angustifolium) springs up in profusion and attains 

 its greatest growth in clearings or recently burned 

 land; hence the name of "Fireweed" by which it is 

 most commonly known, a name which is also given 

 to an entirely different plant (Erechtites hieracifolia), 

 belonging to the great Composite Family. 



The tall, upright stem is usually simple, but occa- 

 sionally slightly branched at the top. It attains 

 heights of from two to eight feet. The closely al- 

 ternating leaves are long, lance-shaped, greatly re- 

 sembling those of the Willow, from which fact it re- 

 ceived its other common name, a name, by the 

 way, that it is advisable to apply to this species as 

 it will avoid confusion of conflicting names. 



The flower spike is long; the flowers, blooming 

 from the bottom, upwards, leave in their wake, num- 

 erous upright, long, slender pods. The four pink 

 petals of each flower are very broad and rounded 

 at the outer end, alternated with narrow brownish 

 sepals; it has eight stamens and a prominent 4-parted 

 pistil. They are apparently seated on the ends of the 

 slender undeveloped pods. 



The Great Willow Herb is abundant throughout our 

 range in low ground, blooming during July and 

 August. 



HAIRY WILLOW HERB (Epilobium hirsutum) 

 (EUROPEAN) has become naturalized and is fairly 

 common in waste places and about old dwellings. It 

 is branchy, hairy, has finely toothed, stemless leaves, 

 and four-parted, magenta flowers growing from the 

 angles of the upper leaves. 



