Epilobium - Use By Humans

Use By Humans

Many of the small willowherb species are nuisance weeds in gardens. Though few are regularly used as ornamental plants, most people find the larger willowherbs to give a pleasing aspect to ruderal locales. One of the most frequently recognized members of the genus is the circumboreal Fireweed (E. angustifolium), known as Rosebay Willowherb in the United Kingdom. It rapidly colonizes burnt ground; during the bombing of London in World War II many of the derelict bomb sites were soon covered with these plants, bringing a splash of colour to what was otherwise a very grim scene. Epilobium angustifolium is the floral emblem of Yukon territory in Canada, Hedmark county in Norway (where the plant is called geitrams) and of the Southern Ostrobothnia region of Finland.

Fireweed is used as a sweetener in northwestern North America; it is put in candies, jellies ice cream, syrup and other treats, as well as in sxusem ("Indian ice-cream"). In the latter months of summer its flowers yield pollen and copious nectar which gives a rich spicy honey. Its young leaves, roots and shoots are edible (if somewhat bitter) and rich in provitamin A and vitamin C; the Dena’ina found them also useful as food supplement to keep their dogs healthy and credit the sap of the species' stem, applied to wounds, with antiinflammatory properties. Small-flowered Willowherb (E. parviflorum) is held to improve urogenital functions in European folk medicine

Several eminent scientists have done research on these plants: Heinrich Carl Haussknecht in the late 19th century and Peter H. Raven about a century later have researched phylogeny, systematics and taxonomy of willowherbs extensively. Peter Michaelis' studies of this genus paved the way for understanding of extranuclear inheritance in plants.