Fireweed

Wild Flowers:  Fireweed

During the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to do high elevation trail maintenance in Colorado.  I was enthralled by the wildflowers.  I thought I would highlight some of my favorites, one at a time, so that you could learn a bit about each one.  The information comes from both my experiences and the book “Guide to Colorado Wildflowers” by G.K. Guennel.  I really found this book helpful in unmasking the identities of these beautiful flowers.  I took the pictures; they don’t do the flowers justice.  If you think my picture is good, go out and see them in person, it’s a hundred times better.  Happy Trails!

Fireweed, also known as Willowweed, Willowherb, or Blooming Sally, is a member of the Evening Primrose Family.

Flowers are to 1” or more, with 4 roundish, pink to red (or even purplish) petals and 4 linear sepals.  Seed pods are slender, to 3” long and 4-angled. 

To catch a glimpse of Fireweed, check along roads, in burned areas and forest openings, on cleared land, and at the edges of woods.  They can be found from the foothills to the subalpine, so from 6,000 to 11,500 feet in elevation.  Plan to hike, conditions permitting, sometime from June to September.