Fireweed
Evening primrose family. Perennial 10-200 cm tall, erect. Stem usually unbranched
with upper part often purplish.
Flowers: Deep pink, purplish or magenta, rarely white. 4 petals about 2.5 cm wide
in elongated terminal clusters. Blooms late July - August
Habitat: Moist regimes, open forest, fields, riverbanks and along roadsides.
Moose occasionally browse fireweed and small mammals eat it's seeds.
Aboriginal peoples used the roots and leaves to make poultices for bruises,
swellings and sores. The silky hairs from fireweed seeds were mixed with cotton
or fur to make stockings and the stem pith was used to make an ale.
