MT HOOD NATIVE PLANTS

Fireweed

Mt Hood’s Lofty Bloomer

Epilobium angustifolium
Evening Primrose family (Onagraceae)

Be sure to come and enjoy these tall wildflowers soon while they are in bloom. You’ll see them on your scenic drive up to the Villages of Mt Hood along the roadside, in fields and surrounding the moist areas of northwest Oregon streams and lakes.

This native perennial stands an impressive 2 to 5 feet tall. The blooming period occurs primarily from early to late summer, and lasts about a month. There is no floral scent.

The flowers quickly wither away, and are replaced by seedpods that are long and narrow. These seedpods split into multiple sections, beginning at their tips (each section curling backward), and release a multitude of tiny seeds with small tufts of white hair. These seeds are readily dispersed by the wind, and can travel a considerable distance. The root system is fibrous and rhizomatous, which enables this plant to form colonies.

 

 

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