Rosebay Willowherb - Chamerion angustifolium

Click here to support NatureSpot by making a donation - small or large - your gift is very much appreciated. Thank you.
Alternative names
Epilobium angustifolium
Description

Robust, almost hairless, patch forming plant to 2.5 metres. Leaves alternate, lanceolate, slightly toothed with a vein running along close to the margin. Flowers violet or rose purple, 20 to 30 mm in long, tapering racemes, petals slightly notched.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Disturbed sites, waste places, banks and roadside verges.

When to see it

June to September.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Common throughout much of Britain, scarcer in the north.

VC55 Status

Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 594 of the 617 tetrads.

  • Graham Calow
    Road alongside M69, Elmesthorpe
    01 August 2016
  • Lostash
    Whetstone GCR Footpath
    08 July 2013
  • Barbara Cooper
    Belvoir Woods
    21 August 2013
  • Ron.stevens
    Broughton Astley
    24 June 2011
  • David Nicholls
    Altar Stones
    29 September 2012

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species data profile ?

Species profile

Common names
Rosebay Willowherb, Fireweed
Species group:
flowering plant
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Myrtales
Family:
Onagraceae
Records on NatureSpot:
427
First record:
11/05/1992 (John Mousley;Steve Grover)
Last record:
28/03/2026 (Cunningham, Sally)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records

  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    23 June 2006
  • David Nicholls
    Fosse Meadows
    08 July 2011
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    02 July 2006
  • Graham Calow
    Broughton Astley
    24 June 2011
  • Graham Calow
    Ellistown
    27 June 2011
  • Ron.stevens
    Broughton Astley
    24 June 2011
  • David Nicholls
    Martinshaw Wood
    30 June 2011
  • David Nicholls
    Swithland Wood
    25 August 2011
  • Denise Stretton
    Jubilee Walk, Leire
    02 August 2011
  • Alan Semper
    Eastwell, Waltham La verge E
    14 July 2012
  • Alan Semper
    Eastwell, Waltham La verge E
    14 July 2012
  • HAPeacock
    Billa Barra
    21 July 2012
  • HAPeacock
    Billa Barra
    21 July 2012
  • Fran Marsland
    Broughton Astley
    17 July 2012
  • Lostash
    Whetstone GCR Footpath
    08 July 2013
  • Ruth Dring
    Broughton Astley
    27 August 2012
  • Graham Calow
    Fosse Meadows, Sharnford
    10 July 2014
  • Paul Ruddoch
    Cribb's Meadow
    01 July 2014
  • Alan Semper
    Stonesby Quarry
    24 July 2013
Photo of the association

Dasineura kiefferiana

The larva of the gall midge Dasineura kiefferiana causes galls to form on the leaves of Rosebay Willowherb. The leaf margins roll inward or fold downward, narrow, tight and thickened, often flattened; 7 to 10 mm long but may coalesce to form a longer roll.

Photo of the association

Mompha raschkiella

The larvae of the moth Mompha raschkiella mine the leaves of Rosebay Willowherb causing a gallery and then a blotch mine, often tinged red and yellow.