urbpan | 365 Urban Species. #215: Fireweed

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urbpan. Location: near 6th and Broad Street, Seattle.

Urban species #115: Fireweed epilobium angustifolium

The ecological state of a city is that it is always in the first stage of succession. Concrete and asphalt resist colonization by all but the most aggressive plants. Most of the areas that have some welcoming soil are constantly mowed, resetting the sequence of ecological succession, making the city a place for pioneer plants. On the west coast, one of the most successful native pioneer plants is fireweed. It is named for the fact that it is the most conspicuous plant to grow after a forest fire. It was one of the first plants to grow in the ashy devastation of Mount St. Helens. The roadsides of Alaska are lined with fireweed, swaths of magenta bordering any summer drive. Fireweed is attractive to bees, and honey collected from hives near fields of this plant is noted for its light color and delicate taste. The fireweed in these pictures grows in a neglected edge of soil between a parking lot and a construction site in Seattle.