Epilobium septentrionale
Epilobium septentrionale, with the common names Humboldt County fuchsia and northern willowherb, is a species of willowherb. Like the wildflower zauschneria, this plant was once treated as a member of genus Zauschneria but has more recently been placed with the willowherbs.
Epilobium septentrionale | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Onagraceae |
Genus: | Epilobium |
Species: | E. septentrionale |
Binomial name | |
Epilobium septentrionale (D.D.Keck) R.N.Bowman & Hoch | |
Synonyms | |
Zauschneria septentrionalis |
Distribution
This species is endemic to Northern California, where it is an uncommon resident of the rocky ledges of the Northern Outer California Coast Ranges.[1]
Description
Epilobium septentrionale is a squat, clumpy perennial growing in thin patches of soil between rocks and sending up a few erect stems. The leaves are oval and pointed, glandular, and covered in a coat of white fuzz.
At the end of each erect branch is a glandular inflorescence bearing a bright red-orange tubular flower 2 or 3 centimeters long. A bunch of stamens and one long pistil protrude obviously from the mouth of the bloom, which is pollinated by nectar-feeding birds. The fruit is a hairy capsule about two centimeters long.