A week or two back, I pulled up short during my early morning visit to the garden .. at the back of the stand of Evening Primrose something was coming into flower, it was beautiful and it was pinky purple. I had a good look at it - the leaves and habit were so like the Evening Primrose all around it that I hadn't spotted the interloper in its midst - so fair play to it, I say! I just love it when a new plant comes to find me .. a great opportunity to get the old books down, dust them off and learn something new and amazing. So who is this beautiful stranger?
Well, I think, Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) - please lend me a hand here, if you are familiar with this plant? I got the preliminary id from my field guide, Collins' Complete Guide to British Wildlife, the photo looked spot-on and the description 'pinkish-purple flowers.. pale centres... appear July-August' is also spot on. The joy of the internet is that once you get a lead like this, you just type it in and before you will appear hundreds of images .. so you can get to see the plant from every angle and in lots of different situations.
The stems and leaves are supposedly hairy (hence 'hirsutum', presumably!) and this didn't strike me immediately. However there is a certain fluffiness about the leaves in the photo, so I'll be out having a little look for that later this evening.
Mrs Grieve tells us that Evening Primrose is related to the willowherbs, so I don't feel so daft for not spotting it now (!) and also that the willowherbs are rich in tannin.. used in fact as a tea substitute in some times and places .. and so the leaves have often been used as astringents. However, and PLEASE NOTE, there are 'reports of violent poisoning with epileptic-like convulsions' associated with the use of Great Hairy Willow Herb itself, so this is one plant I will just be happy to enjoy seeing in the garden, methinks!
