Epilobium luteum

Yellow willowherb

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Yellow willowherb is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native perennial found in northern Klamath Ranges and northern Sierra Nevada High Sierra in moist streambanks and montane meadows at elevations of 1,200 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces cream-yellow flowers 12 to 22 millimeters long with nodding buds densely covered in fine glandular hairs. Growing with loosely clumped stems 10 to 80 centimeters tall, it has short stolons and strigose hairs arranged in decurrent lines. Its leaves vary from spoon-shaped on lower stems to ovate or elliptic, with conspicuous veins and petioles up to 3 millimeters long. The fruit is 35 to 75 millimeters long and slightly hairy, with seed tufts that are reddish and persistent.

Habitat: Moist streambanks, montane meadows

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: +- 1200-2500 m.

Bioregions: n KR, n SNH

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.