Nature Pick: Fireweed

Fireweed, or Chamerion angustifolium, is a native species found throughout Canada and in the vast majority of the United States, except for southeastern states and Texas. A circumboreal plant, it can commonly be found in coniferous and mixed forests, in aspen parklands, and alongside snowberry, thimbleberry and juniper.

The name fireweed comes from the plant's ability to quickly establish in areas burned by fire, appearing as soon as three months after a fire, according to the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System.

Known for tall, showy flower stalks, fireweed has bright pinkish-purple blooms that can appear with more than 50 blooms per stalk. Fireweed flowers have four larger petals alternating with four narrow sepals, which are petal-like structures that protect the flower bud until it opens. Look for fireweed flowers from June through September.

By August, fireweed seeds will begin to be released. These seeds have soft white hairs, similar to those you might see on a dandelion or milkweed. Each flower produces from 300 to 500 seeds, yielding up to approximately 80,000 per plant, according to the FEIS.

Fireweed usually measures about four to six feet tall, though it may grow up to nine feet in height, according to the Forest Service. A unique feature of the leaves of fireweed is that the veins form a ring or inner border around the edge of the leaf and do not end at the edges of the leaves. In the fall, the leaves turn a vibrant amber-red.

In addition to being a food source for animals such as elk, white-tailed deer, and small mammals, fireweed is a valuable plant for pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies, both of which use the nectar from the flowers. As such, fireweed can be a great addition to the home garden, according to the Forest Service. Due to the ease with which it spreads, gardeners may need to put in some maintenance to keep it from taking over the garden.

Native peoples used both early shoots and roots as vegetables, according to the FEIS. Fireweed petals can made into jelly and mature leaves dried for use as tea.

You can find fireweed around Lincoln in recently burned areas such as Alice Creek and along Beaver Creek Road.