Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum

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Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum

Pretty in pink: Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum. Wheafen, Norfolk, 1st August 2022.

Late summer isn’t just yellow. Wetter parts of the countryside are pretty in pink, as Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum, is in full flower at the moment.

You probably have some Great Willowherb growing near where you live, because it’s common and widespread in the British Isles and only absent in parts of the Scottish Highlands. I’ve been seeing a lot of it recently, in my garden and in the marshes by the River Wensum in Norwich, at Strumpshaw Fen RSPB Reserve and at Wheatfen (Ted Ellis Reserve). It often grows along the banks of rivers and canals.

Great Willowherb is a member of the family Onagraceae, which includes Willowherbs (Epilobium and Chamaenerion) and other familiar plants such as Evening Primroses (Oenothera), Fuchsias (Fuchsia) and Clarkias (Clarkia). In the British Isles we also have Ludwigia (Water-primrose and Hampshire-purslane) and Circaea (Enchanters’-nightshades).

There are quite a few species of willowherb in the British Isles and Stace’s Flora (4th Edition) lists eleven species of Epilobium, plus the very beautiful and familiar Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium). Epilobium hirsutum is one of the easiest to identify, though it also forms hybrids with other species of Epilobium. Stace lists seven of these (note 1). It comes in different shades too – pale pink and white as well as the more normal dark pink form. The flowers have been described as “great for bees” and are visited by a range of pollinating insects, but in my experience don’t match up to the attraction of Common Fleabane or Ragwort.

Epilobium hirsutum is a tall perennial plant, capable of growing up to 1.8 metres (nearly six feet). After flowering it goes to seed and the green parts of the plant have died right back by autumn. Green shoots reappear in March and April and Altica flea beetles (A. lythri and A. palustris) emerge from leaf litter at the same time, to feed on the new growth. Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillars feed on the leaves too (as well as on garden Fuchsias).

Leaf beetles (Altica sp.)

Leaf beetles (Altica sp.) at Strumpshaw Fen, March 2020. Two closely related species feed on Great Willowherb.

Great Willowherb is a native of the British Isles and also across Europe and large parts of Africa and Asia, from Morocco, Ireland and Portugal in the west to Japan and Korea in the east, South Africa at the southern end of its range and Sweden and parts of Russia in the north. It has also been introduced into Norway, Finland and parts of the United States and Canada. Wikipedia says it has also been introduced into Australia.

Great Willowherb seeds come with fluffy parachutes and help the plant to spread to new sites. Great Willowherb also spreads by its rhizomes and it can form quite dense stands.

Epilobium hirsutum is quite tolerant of quite dry soils, grows in sun or partial shade and is very hardy. In our garden it grows by both our ponds, reaching out into drier ground, although it flowers for a shorter time here and is now going to seed. It is a lovely garden flower, although rather vigorous and invasive. It can prove to be a bit too fond of your garden if it likes the conditions. It suits my wild style of gardening but I wouldn’t let it into a formal herbaceous border (note 2).

I didn’t plant Great Willowherb in our garden; it invited itself. I enjoy having it here but I often remove the seed heads to prevent self-seeding and I pull out any rhizomes that I don’t want.  I’m leaving some of the seed heads this year to see whether Goldfinches will eat them, though I may come to regret this decision.

Great Willowherb in seed

Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum, in seed in our garden (11th August 2022).

Great Willowherb is also known as Great Hairy Willowherb, which is what I used to call it. I think I must have learnt that name from my parents because it’s just “Great Willow Herb” in Keble Martin’s Flora, my first flower book. The specific name, hirsutus, means “hairy”.  The “great” refers to the plant’s size, though I think it has an air of greatness about it too. The plant is very photogenic and a good subject for a drawing.

Epilobium hirsutum flowers

Close up of Epilobium hirsutum flowers. Strumpshaw Fen, 6th August 2022.

Another name for Epilobium hirsutum is Codlins-and-cream (note 3). The petals are rosy on top like some cooking apples (codlins), with a trace of creamy whiteness underneath.

Another explanation might be the plant’s smell when crushed or bruised. The Plants For A Future website suggests that the plant has the refreshing scent of ripe apples and says that the soft down on the stems and leaves emits the smell of the Moss Rose and Eglantine. (I’m not sure about this – I can definitely detect a faint pleasant smell but I find it hard to describe.)

According to the Plants For A Future website, Great Willowherb leaves have sometimes been used to make a tea. However when I looked for recipes I noticed that it is the plant’s relative Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) that is more normally used (note 4).

Great Willowherb leaves are said to have a salty taste when sucked and have been used medicinally as an astringent. However, “there are some reports of violent poisoning with epileptic-like convulsions as a result of its use“. The Seed Site warns that “SOME PARTS OF THIS PLANT MAY BE POISONOUS“. I will err on the side of caution.

Notes

Note 1 – Clive Stace, “New Flora of the British Isles“, Fourth Edition, 2019. The Flora has over seven pages of Epilobium keys and diagrams. The Willowherb Hybrid Chart on the Wildflower Finder website illustrates this complexity.

Note 2 – If you want to grow Epilobium hirsutum, you collect a few seeds from your local patch and sow them in your garden –  they are very plentiful. For a quicker result, plug plants are available (for example, from Naturescape).

Note 3 – Other English names are food-related too: Apple-pie, Cherry-pie, Currant-dumpling and Custard-cups. Presumably these relate to the plant’s smell as much as appearance.

Note 4 – The tea is made from fermented Rosebay Willowherb leaves – see the Metsik Garden, Forage UK and Permies.com websites for recipes. The tea is known as Ivan chai (Ivan-chaj) or Koporye tea. The article “Re-written narrative: transformation of the image of Ivan-chaj in Eastern Europe” is an interesting read and explores how stories about the “tradition” of Ivan chai have spread in recent years.

Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

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Two glorious sights of late summer involve masses of yellow flowers. One is Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) and the other is Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica). I love them both and so do the masses of insects that feast on their flowers.

Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica, likes damper areas to grow than Common Ragwort and can be found in marshes, fens, by streams, in damp woodland rides and in wet hollows. It will grow on road verges, if there is enough moisture.

“Adding a touch of sun to the end of the flowering season, this vivid yellow bloom brightens many a damp ditch.” – Plantlife.

Large Skipper butterflies on Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

Large Skipper butterflies on Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica.

In the British Isles, Pulicaria dysenterica is commonest in England, Wales and Ireland and records are much scarcer in Scotland. It is a native of the British Isles and its range extends through much of Europe into Asia (the western Himalayas) and into North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria). In Europe it grows as far north as Norway but not in Sweden or Finland. Common Fleabane has been introduced into the United States (New York state).

Common Fleabane is a perennial and a type of daisy, a member of family Asteraceae. The flower head is about 30mm across and consists of 40–100 ray and 20–30 tube florets aggregated together. ) Each one provides the perfect platform for insects to land on to gather ample supplies of nectar and pollen.

Flowers are produced for a short time between mid July and September and usually peak in August. They are followed by parachute-like seeds (like those of Dandelion) which can travel considerable distances but need bare ground to establish. Plants also spread by rhizomes and can form extensive clumps if the conditions are right for them. Common Fleabane often grows with Water Mint (Mentha aquatica), which I wrote about in August 2019, another great plant for insects.

A patch of Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

Plants can form extensive clumps if the conditions are right for them. Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica, by a footpath across Sweetbriar Marshes, Norwich (26th July 2022).

Common Fleabane grows to to 50 – 90cm tall and alternate, lanceolate leaves clasp its flowering stems. These leaves are wrinkly and fleshy and glaucous in colour. (See The Wildflower Finder website for more photographs.)

So why Fleabane? The smell of the leaves gives a clue: hints of carbolic soap and chrysanthemum. The dried leaves act as an insect repellant and dried bunches of leaves were sometimes hung up indoors to deter fleas or burnt to act as a fumigant. The root and leaves were sometimes used to treat dysentery and wounds were treated with a paste of the plant, applied externally. Other past uses “include treatments for unspecified eye ailments“. (It’s best not to try this at home.)

The genus name Pulicaria derives from Pulex (Pulex irritans is the Human Flea) and the specific name references the plant’s use in treating dysentery. In North America, Common Fleabane is known as Meadow False Fleabane. The Plantlife website lists some other English names for Pulicaria dysenterica:  Harvest Flower (from its flowering time),  Job’s Tears, Camels, Mare’s Fat and Pig-daisy (note 1).

The Diverse Gardens website says that Common Fleabane leaves can be eaten either raw or preferably cooked and added to other greens, but the Plants For A Future website says “edibility unknown” (note 2). I haven’t experimented (note 3).

If your garden soil is damp enough you might like to grow Common Fleabane. The RHS specifically recommends the plant for wildflower meadows and wildlife gardens with poorly drained soil. The plant prefers full sun. It is generally free of pests and diseases and is frost hardy. (Its hardiness is H6: hardy throughout the UK and Northern Europe, down to -15 to -20 Celsius.) Common Fleabane is on the RHS “Perfect For Pollinators” list. There seems to be only one potential snag: if it really likes your garden Common Fleabane can be invasive, spreading by its roots. But I would take the chance if you’re able to grow it. (Our garden is far too dry, so I have never tried.)

Common Fleabane can be grown from seed (for example, from Emorsgate Seeds but out of stock at the time of writing) or from plug plants (such as from Naturescape). The Plants For A Future website has some useful propagation tips.

Finally, here are a few more photographs of insects enjoying Common Fleabane flowers, taken in the last few days in the Norwich area.

What will you find on Common Fleabane flowers near you?

Small Copper on Common Fleabane

Small Copper butterfly on Common Fleabane.

Dasypoda hirtipes on Common Fleabane

A female Pantaloon Bee, Dasypoda hirtipes, on Common Fleabane.

Deraeocoris ruber on Common Fleabane

Mirid bug Deraeocoris ruber on Common Fleabane. A predatory species, often seen on nettles.

Notes

Note 1 – I wonder whether it should be “Mare’s Fart” instead of “Mare’s Fat”? The former name is sometimes used for Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) because of its not very pleasant smell, so might also be applied to Common Fleabane. It’s just one of many wonderful old names for plants and fungi, many of which have slipped out of common usage.

Note 2 – I did a quick online search and found research papers looking at the chemical composition of the essential oils of Pulicaria dysenterica. A 2011 paper by Basta et. al. looking at P. dysenterica in Greece lists nerolidol, caryophyllene oxide and Beta-caryophyllene. However, a 2014 paper by Sharifi-Rad et. al. looking at P. dysenterica in Iran gives different results, listing thymol as a major constituent (40.22%), along with many other compounds not mentioned by Basta et. al. I decided to stop looking before I went further down that rabbit hole.

Note 3 – A day after I wrote this post I had a chew on a leaf. The flavour was very complex and hard for me to describe, but interesting and not unpleasant.

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys

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I’ve written about a number of rare plants on this blog.

I’ve seen some while on holiday by train (Pasque Flower in Hertfordshire, Dark-red Helleborine in Lancashire) and sometimes ferry (Field Cow-wheat on the Isle of Wight, Oysterplant on Orkney). Others have been much closer to home (Lizard Orchid,  Sulphur Clover, Small-flowered Catchfly and Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem).

But I mustn’t neglect more common plants, as they are worth a closer look too. Few are more abundant than Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys and, in spring and early summer, few are lovelier.

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys, in our back garden (29th May 2022).

Veronica chamaedrys is a low growing, spreading perennial plant with hairy, heart-shaped leaves. Its stems can reach to 50 cm (20 inches) tall. The main stem has a double line of hairs along the edge, which is a useful identification feature. (Flowering stems have hairs all around the stem.) As the stems creep along the ground they produce roots at the nodes to form new plants. The plant also spreads by seed.

Peak flowering (here in Norfolk) is in mid May but flowers are produced from April to July. They are 8 – 12 mm across and a deep sky-blue with white centres, giving the plant its alternative name of Bird’s-eye Speedwell. There is usually a white halo around the edge of the flower (note 1).

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chameadrys

Detail of Germander Speedwell flowers (18th June 2022).

The map on the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora website shows Veronica chamaedrys distributed throughout most of the British Isles, with a few gaps in parts of Ireland and the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland. It grows in woods, hedge banks, grassland, rock outcrops, upland screes, road verges, railway banks and waste ground and on anthills on chalk downland. The plant isn’t particularly fussy about the type of soil it grows in and is thriving in semi-shade in our garden and on our allotment, on sandy loam.

As well as beauty, Germander Speedwell provides food for insects.

The distinctive Red-girdled Mining Bee, Andrena labiata, is found in the southern half of England but is quite scarce. It visits our garden and also our local cemetery. It is particularly partial to Veronica chamaedrys flowers, though it will collect pollen elsewhere.

Andrena labiata

Andrena labiata (female) in our back garden, May 2022. Photo credit: Vanna Bartlett.

Andrena labiata (male)

Andrena labiata (male)

Germander Speedwell is the foodplant of the Little Long-horn Moth, Cauchas fibulella. Its larve initially feed on the seeds, then form a portable case from fragments of the plant and feed on the leaves close to the ground. The moth flies on sunny days in May and June and can be often be seen near or on the flowers.

Cauchas fibulella

Cauchas fibulella in our back garden, May 2022. Photo credit: Vanna Bartlett.

Germander Speedwell is also an alternative foodplant for the rare Heath Fritillary butterfly. (its main foodplants are Common Cow-wheat and Ribwort Plantain.)

Heath Fritillaries

Heath Fritillaries, West Blean & Thornden Woods, Kent. June 2021.

Even if the sun isn’t shining, it’s worth checking Germander Speedwell for galls, caused by the tiny Gall Midge, Jaapiella veronicae. (I’ve never seen the insect but it has a tiny orange body and long legs.) They’re fairly common in the British Isles. The Plant Parasites of Europe website has some great pictures of the galls.

Jaapiella veronicae

Jaapiella veronicae galls on Germander Speedwell in our back garden.

I have known and loved Germander Speedwell for many years. When I first learnt about wild flowers,the plant was part of the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort family) but is nowadays it is considered to be in the Plantaginaceae (Plantain family) or Veronicaceae (Speedwell family) (note 2).

The Plants For A Future website says that Germander Speedwell leaves can be used to make a tea substitute and that “an infusion of the leaves once had a good reputation in the treatment of coughs, asthma, catarrh etc.” In the 18th Century the plant gained an reputation for curing gout. Flora Britannica quotes “Sir” John Hill (1716 – 1775): “the dried leaves picked from the stalks, were sold in our markets, and people made tea of them”. So many leaves were picked that “the plant was in a manner destroyed for many miles around London”. The craze soon passed – apparently it didn’t work – and Germander Speedwell returned, thankfully.

The plant has also been used as “a vulnerary, a purifier of the blood, and a remedy in various skin diseases, its outward application being considered efficacious for the itch“. I haven’t experimented, but the plant’s juice is apparently rather astringent and honey was sometimes used to make it more palatable.

The name “Speedwell” may relate to the plant’s medicinal qualities, if it was thought to cause a “speedy” recovery. Another possibility is that the plant was considered a good luck charm, sending travellers “speeding on their way.”

The genus name, Veronica, probably comes from the Latin: vera– means true and –nica means image. While Jesus Christ was carrying his cross to Calvary St. Veronica is said to have leant him her veil to wipe his forehead, leaving behind an image of his face on the garment.

The species name, chamaedrys means “charisma” or “gift”. “Germander” may be a corruption of chamaedrys or from the Greek chamai, which means “on the ground”.

Outside the British Isles, Veronica chamaedrys is also a native throughout most of Europe, as well as Armenia, Azerbijan and Turkey in Asia. It has been introduced to the United States and arrived in Canada in 1820, Iceland in 1922 and Chile in 1929.

There is another American connection: the sailing ship “Speedwell”, a 60-ton pinnace, was built in 1577 and under her original name of “Swiftsure” was involved in the fight against the Spanish Armada. She was renamed in 1605 and set sail with the “Mayflower” in 1620. She leaked and had to be refitted but did eventually reach Virginia in 1635 (note 3).

Notes

Note 1 –  As usual, the Wildflower Finder website has excellent photographs.

When picked, Germander Speedwell wilts very quickly, giving the plant the ironic German name “Männertreu” (“men’s faithfulness”).

As well as ‘Bird’s-eye Speedwell’, Richard Mabey’s “Flora Britannica” (page 333; Sinclair-Stevenson, 1996) lists ‘Cat’s Eye’, ‘Eye of the Child Jesus’, ‘Farewell’ and ‘Goodbye’ as alternative English names.

Note 2 – Clive Stace includes Veronica, Digitalis, Misopates and several other genera in the family Veronicaceae. (Clive Stace, “New Flora of the British Isles“, Fourth Edition, 2019.)

Around 35 species of Veronica grow in the wild in the British Isles.There are also several garden varieties.

Note 3 – It appears that the “Speedwell” was sabotaged by its captain, Mr. Reynolds.

You can read the whole story on the World History Encyclopedia website but according to Nathaniel Philbrick: “It was later learned that the Speedwell‘s master, Mr. Reynolds, had been secretly working against them. In Holland, the vessel had been fitted with new and larger masts – a fatal mistake that was probably done with Reynold’s approval, if not at his suggestion. As any mariner knew, a mast crowded with sail not only moved a ship through the water, it acted as a lever that applied torque to the hull. When a ship’s masts were too tall, the excess strain opened up the seams between the planks, causing the hull to leak. By overmasting the Speedwell, Reynolds had provided himself with an easy way to deceive this fanatical group of landlubbers. He might shrug his shoulders and scratch his head when the vessel began to take on water, but all he had to do was reduce sail and the Speedwell would cease to leak.“