Leafy willowherb facts for kids

Epilobium foliosum, also known as the leafy willowherb or California willowherb, is a type of flowering plant. It belongs to the evening primrose family. This plant grows naturally in western North America, from British Columbia in Canada, down through California, and into Arizona in the United States. You can find it in many different places, even in areas where the ground has been disturbed, like roadsides or recently cleared land.

What is the Leafy Willowherb?

The leafy willowherb is a small plant that lives for only one year. This means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within a single growing season. It has a thin, somewhat weak stem that can grow up to about 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) tall.

What Does It Look Like?

The leaves of the leafy willowherb are long and narrow, like a line or a spearhead. They can be up to 3 centimeters (about 1.2 inches) long. Sometimes, these leaves are folded lengthwise, almost like they're creased down the middle. They grow either one after another along the stem or in small groups.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers of this plant grow in an open cluster called a raceme. Each flower has four small white petals. These petals are very tiny, only about 2 or 3 millimeters long. They often have a small notch or dip at their tip. After the flower blooms, it produces a fruit. This fruit is a slightly hairy capsule, which is a dry case that holds the seeds. It can grow up to 2 centimeters (about 0.8 inches) long.