''Epilobium brunnescens'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

belonging to the willowherb

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Epilobium ''Epilobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Onagraceae, containing about 197 species. The genus has a worldwide distribution. It is most prevalent in the subarctic, temperate and subantarctic regions, whereas in the subtropics an ...

'' in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Onagraceae The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

with white or pale pink

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. It is native to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and south-east Australia and has been introduced to Northern Europe. Its common names include New Zealand willowherb in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, creeping willowherb in New Zealand and bog willowherb for the Australian subspecies. Stace, Clive (2010) ''New Flora of the British Isles'', 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press.Carter, Oberon & Neville Walsh (2006
National Recovery Plan for the Bog Willow-herb ''Epilobium brunnescens'' subspecies ''beaugleholei''
, State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment.

Description

It is a low-growing, mat-forming plant with stems that trail along the ground, reaching 20 centimetres in length. The stems have two rows of tiny hairs and have roots at the nodes.Poland, John & Eric Clement (2009) ''The Vegetative Key to the British Flora'', Botanical Society of the British Isles. The flowers have white or pale pink petals that are 2.5–4 millimetres in length. The leaves are rounded and are usually 3–7 millimetres long, sometimes reaching 10 millimetres. They are purplish below, have smooth or slightly toothed edges and have a 0.5–3 millimetre stalk.

Distribution and habitat

The species is widespread in New Zealand, occurring in the North Island, the South Island, on Stewart Island, in the

Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands (Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Islan ...

and the

Campbell Islands The Campbell Islands (or Campbell Island Group) are a group of subantarctic islands, belonging to New Zealand. They lie about 600 km south of Stewart Island. The islands have a total area of , consisting of one big island, Campbell Isl ...

as well as on the Australian possession of

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...

.Flora of Australia Online: ''Epilobium brunnescens (Cockayne) P.H.Raven & Engelhorn subsp. brunnescens
Accessed 14 April 2013. It grows in a variety of habitats, particularly open, shingly riverbeds in areas of high rainfall.Raven, Peter H. & Tamra Engelhorn (1971
New Taxa and New Combinations in Australasian ''Epilobium'' (Onagraceae)
''New Zealand Journal of Botany'', 9 (2): 345-350.Kitchener J. D. & D. R. McKean (1998
Hybrids of ''Epilobium brunnescens'' (Cockayne) Raven & Englehorn (Onagraceae) and their occurrence in the British Isles
''Watsonia'', 22: 49-60. Two subspecies are present in New Zealand: ''E. b.'' subsp. ''brunnescens'' which usually has nodding flowers and ''E. b.'' subsp. ''minutiflorum'' which usually has erect flowers. The subspecies ''E. b.'' subsp. ''beaugleholei'' is restricted to a single site in

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hig ...

in eastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, south-east Australia. It grows on wet, mossy rocks close to a waterfall at an altitude of about 1320 metres. A survey in 2001 found only three patches of the plant, covering a total area of 1 m². The subspecies is considered to be at high risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

due to threats such as rock fall, drought, illegal collection and damage by visitors. ''E. b.'' subsp. ''brunnescens'' has been introduced to Great Britain and Ireland where it was first recorded in 1904 in

Craigmillar Craigmillar ( gd, Creag a' Mhuilleir, IPA: �kʰʲɾʲekˈaˈvɯʎɪɾʲ, from the Gaelic ''Creag Maol Ard'', meaning 'High Bare Rock', is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Ne ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. It spread rapidly from the 1930s onwards and is now widespread in northern and western areas where rainfall and humidity are higher. It has not yet spread to many parts of southern and central England and central Ireland. It occurs in various damp, open, gravelly or stony habitats including hillsides, stream banks, waste tips, stone walls, paths and railway sidings. The species has also been introduced to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

where it was first recorded in 1931 but is still rare.

References

External links

* Online Atlas of the British & Irish Flora
''Epilobium brunnescens'' (New Zealand Willowherb)
* Species Profile and Threats Database
''Epilobium brunnescens'' subsp. ''beaugleholei'' — Bog Willow-herb
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15324346 brunnescens Flora of New Zealand Myrtales of Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Macquarie Island Plants described in 1971