Epilobium palustre

Marsh willowherb

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Marsh willowherb is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada Mountains, including Grass Lake in El Dorado County and Warner Range, in wet meadows, seeps, and bogs at elevations of 1,950 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces white to pink flowers small and delicate. Growing with thread-like stems 10 to 80 centimeters tall, it forms compact stolons tipped with fleshy bulblets and has a fine, strigose texture especially along leaf bases. Its leaves are nearly sessile, 15 to 70 millimeters long, ranging from narrow linear to elliptic in shape. The fruit is elongated, 30 to 90 millimeters long with fine hairs, and the seeds have persistent hair-tufts.

Habitat: Wet meadows, seeps, bogs, disturbed wet areas

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 1950-2400 m

Bioregions: n SNH (Grass Lake, El Dorado Co.), Wrn

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