Willowherbs are native broadleaf plants but usually require a disturbance to establish. Although considered desirable members of natural habitats, they can be weedy in managed urban and agricultural sites. The common names for this plant include great willowherb, fireweed, rosebay willowherb, and blooming sally.

Understanding the Context

These descriptive names often reflect the plant's characteristics or its historical common uses, particularly in traditional medicine and wilderness survival scenarios. Epilobium angustifolium - Fireweed / Rosebay Willowherb by wallygrom. Some of the common names for Epilobium members include French Willow, Rosebay, Fireweed, and Willow herb. Broad-leaved willowherb (Epilobium montanum) is found characteristically, though not abundantly, in the mesotrophic grasslands with meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) and sometimes the uncommon Greek valerian (Polemonium caeruleum).

Key Insights

The hairy Willowherb or Codling-and-Cream is the one found most often in the eastern US and grows to 6 feet tall. It has hairy leaves and stalks and notched flower petals. This annoying plant is an aggressive competitor to native and cultivated plants. Read on for some clues on how to get rid of willowherb once and for all. Members of the evening-primrose family, Onagraceae, willowherbs are familiar flowers of our urban spaces.

Final Thoughts

While they occur in all habitats, they are particularly prominent in human-influenced landscapes where around eight species can commonly be encountered in pavements, waste areas and even gardens. Fringed Willowherb is one of the most common Willowherbs in Minnesota, found in all manner of wet places across the state, though sometimes found in drier sites such as cliff ledges.