Epilobium hirsutum
Anna Testen Taxonomy Scientific Name: Epilobium hirsutum L. Synonym(s): Chamaenerion hirsutum, E. tomentosum, E. velutinum, E. villosum Common Name(s): codlins and cream, hairy willow herb Family: Onagraceae
Linnaean Society of London Chen, 1992 Taxonomic Description
• Overall Plant Habit/Description: 0.6 -1.5 m (2-5 feet) tall; erect; stems are angled; multi-stemmed with one well branched main stem; short pubescence on stem and leaves; thick stolons that terminate in rosette of glabrous leaves • Root System Type: Well branched with rhizomes, often stays near surface of soils • Presence/Type of Underground Storage Organs: Fleshy Rhizomes • Leaves: Sessile, oblong-lanceolate, 1-3 inches long, lower leaves are opposite, upper leaves are alternate, small, sharp teeth on leaf margins • Flower: Rose to light pink (darker pink veins), 8 stamen in two whorls, distinctive, white, recurved 4 lobed stigma, notched petals, four total, actinomorphic, long, thin capsules follow flowers English botany, or, Coloured figures of British plants / edited by John T. Boswell Syme ; the popular portion by Mrs. Lankester ; the figures by J. Sowerby, J. de C. Sowerby, J.W. Salter, and John Edward Sowerby. London :R. Hardwicke,1863-1886 Geographic Distribution
• Native to Europe, Northern Africa, Asia • Introduced to North America and Australia • Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire Native Habitat
• Often found in waste spaces, • Requires moisture, • Wet, rocky areas such as – ditches, – stream or river beds – can be found in open woodlands Propagation Methods
• Seed • Vegetative – 1,000 ppm IBA – 3,000 ppm IBA – 8,000 ppm IBA – Two node – Three node – Stem tip Levielle, 1910 My experiment Schwabe,1989 Best Form and Flowering Production Schedule
• Take cuttings • Root for two weeks • Transplant (PGR and again in two weeks?) • 4-5 weeks after transplant FBI • 6 weeks flowering • Ship • Ka-ching! Production Schedule
Stick cuttings Flowering PGR FBI Transplant
2 wks 2 wks 2-3 wks 1-2 wks
Total Crop Production time: 7-9 weeks Market Specifications
• Early spring sales, Mother’s Day or Easter • Can be grown year round • Market as an old fashioned variety • Smells like apples! • Alternative rain garden plant • Good for wet areas of the yard
What’s a gardener to do?
• Put in full sun • Wet areas of the yard • Trouble areas • An aggressive border • Will flower continuously • Should be winter hardy How can this crop be improved?
• Floriferous • Smaller leaves • Compact • Less invasive…
Leveillie, 1910 Why this should never ever be a floriculture crop!!!!!!!!!!!!! • Invasive! • Has already ‘jumped the fence’ in US, Canada and Australia • Can spread via stolons, rhizomes and prolific seed production! • And the number one reason why E. hirsutum should never be a floriculture crop… BFF!
Purple Loosestrife and Hairy Willow Herb Forever!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/466929532_398736a3cf.jpg?v=0 Refences
• Alminaite, A. 2002. First Report of a Group 16SrI, Subgroup B, Phytoplasma in Diseased Epilobium hirsutum in the Region of Tallin, Estonia. Plant Disease 86:1177. • Annen, C. 2007. Epilobium hirsutum Fact Sheet. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. • Bailey, L. H. et al. 1976. Hortus Third: a concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York: MacMillan. • Bailey, L. H. 1939. The standard cyclopedia of horticulture. New York: MacMillan. • Barbey, W. 1885. Epilobium genus a cl. Ch. Cuisin illustratum. Lausanne : G. Bridel. • Chen, C., 1992. Systematics of Epilobium (Onagraceae) in China. Systematic Botany Monographs 34. • Chittenden, F. et al. 1951. Royal Horticulture Society Dictionary of Gardening; a practical and scientific encyclopedia of horticulture. Oxford: Claredon Press. Vol. II. • Fresnillo, B. and Ehlers, B. 2008. Variation in dispersability among mainland and island populations of three wind dispersed plant species. Plant Systematics and Evolution 270:243-255. • Hausskneckt, C. 1884. Monographie der Gattung Epilobium. Jena, G. Fischer. • Leveille, H. 1910. Iconographie du genre Epilobium. Le Mans, Impr. Monnoyer. • Plant, R. and Roberton, S. 2008. Hairy Willow Herb Epilobium hirsutum Victorian Alert Weed Fact Sheet. Victorian Government Department of Primary Industries Melbourne. • Raven, P. 1976. The genus Epilobium (Onagraceae) in Australasia: a systematic and evolutionary study. Christchurch : New Zealand Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research. • Schwabe, W. 1989. Epilobium hirsutum and Epilobium parviflorum. In Handbook of Flowering, Volume VI. CRC Press: • Shamsi, S. and Whitehead, F. 1977. Comparative Eco-Physiology of Epilobium Hirsutum L. and Lythrum Salicaria L. I. General Biology, Distribution and Germination. Journal of Ecology 62: 279-290. • Shamsi, S. and Whitehead, F. 1977. Comparative Eco-Physiology of Epilobium Hirsutum L. and Lythrum Salicaria L. II: Growth and Development in relation to Light. Journal of Ecology 62: 631-645. • Shamsi, S. and Whitehead, F. 1977. Comparative Eco-Physiology of Epilobium Hirsutum L. and Lythrum Salicaria L. III: Mineral Nutrition. Journal of Ecology 65: 55-70. • Shamsi, S. and Whitehead, F. 1977. Comparative Eco-Physiology of Epilobium Hirsutum L. and Lythrum Salicaria L. IV: Effects of temperature and inter-specific competition and concluding discussion. Journal of Ecology 65: 71-84. • http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/willowherb.html Accessed April 25, 2009. • http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wilher23.html Accessed April 25, 2009. • http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?keywordquery=epilobium+hirsutum&mode=sciname&submit.x=12&submit.y=12 Accessed April 25, 2009. • http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?417511 Accessed April 25, 2009. • http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/Search.aspx?searchTerm=epilobium hirsutum&searchCat= Accessed April 25, 2009.