Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Dwarf Fireweed
Chamaenerion latifolium
Evening-Primrose family (Onagraceae)

Dwarf Fireweed (Chamaenerion latifolium) can be distinguished from Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) by its habitat and by a number of growth characteristics: It is shorter, has fewer flowers in its , the is shorter than the , and leaves are smooth with a noticeably long, central vein. Flower color of the two species is very similar and both plants have numerous very attractive flowers. Chamaenerion latifolium was first named Epilobium by Linnaeus in 1753. Josef Holub renamed it in 1972.


©2002 Anita Gould

Description

with stems usually to 16" long, below, slightly hairy above. or sometimes , to or , to 3" long, or , , and usually hairy. Petals to over 1" long, bright pink to pink purple or rarely white. shorter than the . a to purple .

Field Marks

Several red-purple stems with large, showy pink-purple flowers and long .

© Al Schneider

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

style -- This is a long and thread-like structure that connects the stigma with the ovary. A flower may have a single style, or several of them.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

latifolia -- wide leaves.

ovate -- Oval, egg-shaped, with a tapering point.

pubescent -- downy; covered with short, soft, erect hairs.

denticulate -- Finely toothed. Finer than dentate.

In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.

An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.

glaucous -- Pale gray or bluish-green. It can mean covered with a greyish, bluish or whitish coating.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

sessile -- attached without a stalk. For example, a leaf that clasps the stalk. A petiolate leaf has a stalk.

elliptic -- Oval, with no point or a very short point.

whorled -- The leaves are arranged in whorls of 3 or more leaves along the stems of a plant.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

lanceolate -- Lance-shaped. Long, wider in the middle.