There are two interesting things about Watson's Willow Herb (
Epilobium watsonii): it's a perennial that spreads by its rhizomes, but also can grow annually from its own seeds. Because of this, it can spread quickly and I can attest to this as these plants are growing along our regular dog walking route.
The second interesting thing is that these weedy plants are natives of North America and have spread to Europe where it is profuse now -- kind of the opposite from normal weed migration!
Watson's Willow Herb is a member of the Evening Primrose family. The flower petals occur in multiples of four and are slightly pink. The largest blossoms are about the size of a penny. It some ways it is similar to our local Fireweed, both in the same genus. There are a many similar species of willow herbs growing in the Northwest, so you may see them just about anywhere.
Finally, I could not find a reference to the namesake, Watson. These are blooming on Laurelview Road (8/26/2012).
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| Fully opened flower. |
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| Partially opened flower. |
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| Leaves |
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| Note the long seed pods. |
I always wondered what this little flower was. USDA and Califlora list it as Epilobium ciliatum ssp. watsonii. See:
ReplyDeletehttp://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=EPCIW
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=5208+1611+1802+0046
Other sites list it as Epilobium watsonii.
Botanists not only like putting things in boxes, they love shuffling the boxes and then arguing about it for 10 years.
I tried to find out who it's named after. I think it's Sereno Watson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sereno_Watson