Family - Onagraceae (Evening Primrose Family)

Common Names - Rosebay Willowherb, Fireweed, Bomb Weed, Great Willowherb

Habitat - Disturbed Open Ground, Blooms After Fires & Bombs

Harvest Time - Young Shoots & Leaves In Spring. Flowers & Leaves In Late Summer

Possible Confusion - Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea)

Distribution - Native Throughout The Temperate Northern Hemisphere

Parts to Eat - Stem, Leaves & Flowers 

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Identification

Rosebay willow herb also known as fireweed can grow to over 2 metres in height. The tall stems are a red/green 

colour & are covered in long spear shaped leaves. These leaves spiral around the stem until reaching about three 

quarters of the way up where the soft tubular shaped seed pods begin. Its leaves have a unique vein pattern to help 

identify the plant, its veins branch out from the centre spine of the leaf but do not quite reach the edge & instead turn 

back towards the centre creating a curving pattern. At the top end of the plant the flowers which bloom in summer 

have four pink petals. Its seed pods are a pink colour & fade to a green colour on the underside. Each plant can

produce up to a mind blowing 80 thousand seeds! These seeds have tiny parachutes that

appear fluffy as they sail along the late summer's breeze. 

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Fresh Spring Shoots

To identify the young shoots of rosebay willowherb you must first get to know the plant when it's fully mature. Once 

you are confident, you can identify the plant when fully grown you then apply this knowledge to searching for the 

young shoots in early spring. The young shoots are harder to identify because they don't have the key features such as 

the bright pink flowers. A tip to harvesting young shoots is to take a note of where the plant is abundant

in summer & return to this spot in early spring for fresh spring shoots. 

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Nutritional Value

Rosebay willowherb is rich in vitamin C & A.

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Culinary Uses

The flowers can be added as a floral touch to salads or made into beautiful pink jams & syrups. The young shoots in 

spring are delicious & can be eaten fresh, they are often referred to as an asparagus alternative. The young shoots can 

also be steamed or pickled. Inside the stem the soft pith can be harvested all the way through till late summer. To 

harvest the pith simply split the stem in half to reveal the soft cucumber-like centre. The leaves of rosebay 

willowherb are used to make a special fermented tea called Ivan Chai. This is a naturally fermented tea that

was once one of the most popular teas in the entire world.