Hairy Willowherb

Did you know

• Hairy willowherb is also called 'codlins and cream' because the flowers supposedly smell like baked apples.
• The plant spreads both by underground rhizomes and by seeds attached to fluffy white parachutes that float on the wind.
• It is closely related to fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), which famously colonized London bombsites after World War II.
• Each plant can produce up to 80,000 seeds per year, explaining its ability to colonize new areas rapidly.
• The young shoots are edible and were historically gathered as a spring vegetable in parts of Europe.

Color meanings

Uses

• wetland planting
• wildlife habitat
• edible shoots
• erosion control