Epilobium siskiyouense

Siskiyou fireweed, Siskiyou Fireweed

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Siskiyou fireweed is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in northern Klamath Ranges on serpentine ridges, scree, and moist ledges at elevations of 1,700 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces pink to rose-purple flowers 11 to 24 millimeters long with distinctive 4-lobed stigmas. Growing as a clumped subshrub 10 to 25 centimeters tall with woody stems covered in fine scales and short hairs, it forms dense clusters from a woody base. Its sessile leaves are lanceolate to widely ovate, 13 to 26 millimeters long, sparsely covered with short strigose hairs. The fruit is 25 to 45 millimeters long and hairy, with a white seed tuft that detaches easily.

Habitat: Scree, moist ledges, serpentine ridges

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 1700-2500 m

Bioregions: n KR

California counties: Siskiyou, Trinity, Shasta

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