Epilobium hirsutum is a
flowering plant belonging to the willowherb genus Epilobium in the family
Onagraceae. It is commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb.[2] Local names include codlins-and-cream, apple-pie and cherry-pie.
Close-up of the flowers
Description
It is a tall,
perennial plant, reaching up to 2 metres in height. The robust
stems are profusely hairy with soft spreading hairs.[3]: 160 [4] The hairy leaves are 2–12 cm long and 0.5–3.5 cm wide. They are long and thin and are widest below the middle. They have sharply toothed edges and no stalk. The large flowers have four notched
petals. These are purple-pink and are usually 10–16 mm long.[5]: 357 The
stigma is white and has four lobes. The
sepals are green.
Distribution
The native range of the species includes North Africa, most of Europe up to
southern Sweden,[6] and parts of Asia. It is absent from much of
Scandinavia and north-west
Scotland. It has been introduced to North America[2] and Australia. It typically grows in wet or damp habitats without dense tree-cover up to 2,500 metres above sea-level. Common habitats include
marshland, ditches and the banks of rivers and streams. It flowers from June to September, with a peak in July and August. The flowers are visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized
pollination syndrome.[7] A number of insects feed on the leaves including the
elephant hawkmoth, Deilephila elpenor.
Ecology
Epilobium hirsutum inhabits damp and waste places, river-sides and ditches.[8]
Trichomes
The plant shows glandular
trichomes. They are unicellular, without a specialized basal cell. They have a cutinized cell wall and a protruding pore on the top. The upper part of the trichome cell contains
flavonoids, e.g.quercitrin and
myricitrin.[9]
^Blamey, M.; Fitter, R.; Fitter, A (2003). Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora. London: A & C Black.
ISBN978-1408179505.
^Martin, W. Keble 1965. The New Concise British Flora in Colour; with nomenclature edited and revised by Douglas H. Kent and foreword by The Duke of Edinburgh. London: Book Club Associates by arrangement with Ebury Press/ Michael Joseph (1982)
^Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN9780521707725.