''Epilobium septentrionale'', with the common names Humboldt County fuchsia and northern willowherb, is a species of

willowherb Willowherbs are annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the flowering plant family Onagraceae. Willowherb may refer to: * A species of willowherb in the genus ''Epilobium'' * A species of willowherb in the genus ''Chamaenerion ''Chamaenerion'' ...

. Like the wildflower

zauschneria ''Epilobium canum'', also known as California fuchsia or Zauschneria, is a species of willowherb in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae).Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd ed., 2013, p99 It is native to dry slopes and in chaparral ...

, this plant was once treated as a member of genus ''Zauschneria'' but has more recently been placed with the willowherbs.

Distribution

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, where it is an uncommon resident of the rocky ledges of the Northern Outer

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

.Jepson
/ref>

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 An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

bearing a bright red-orange tubular flower 2 or 3 centimeters long. A bunch of

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and one long

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

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.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Epilobium septentrionale''''Epilobium septentrionale'' - Photo gallery
{{- septentrionale Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status