AKA: Epilobium augustfolium, blood vine, blooming sally, flowering willow, purple rocket, willow herb

Fireweed is a perennial plant that can grow between 2 and 5 feet in height. It has large purple flowers and bears a fruit that is a brown capsule which opens at both ends to release oval seeds. It is called 'fire weed' because of its likeliness to spring up in places that have been burned or otherwise disturbed. You might see the brilliant magenta flowers of this plant rising up out of the blackened earth after a forest fire. And Londoners claimed to have seen it growing in their city after the devastating blitzkrieg of World War II.  The plant is also known to fill up newly excavated sites and ditches. While it likes disturbed areas Fireweed also favors the rich and moist soils in the upland regions of North America and Europe where it grows wild.

Benefits and Uses

• Antispasmodic
• Demulcent
• Astringent
• Decoction for prostate problems
• Great in soups or salads

Fireweed has a rich history of culinary and medicinal uses. It has been traditionally employed as an antispasmodic: its roots and leaves made into an infusion to treat asthma, whooping cough and hiccups. The dried leaves of the fireweed have also been used to sooth irritated mucous membranes as well as an astringent.' Native Americans used to eat the young shoots of the plant and added the pith of the stems to soup. They also used the leaves as a potherb. The French fur traders also held the plant with much esteem, calling in 'asperg'. Even today, the young flower stalks and leaves og the plant are used as salad ingredients.

Today, fireweed is still made into an ointment that is used to soothe skin and is considered especially helpful in helping children deal with skin problems. The plant can also be decocted for use in problems such as diarrhea, colitis, gastritis and irritable bowel syndrome. In parts of Europe, the plant  has been used in a decoction to help with prostate problems.