Fireweed

“When the earth is burnt and sad, I will come to make it glad. All forlorn and ruined places, all neglected empty spaces, I can cover – only think! – with a mass of rosy pink.” -Cicely Mary Barker

The phoenix of the flower world, fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium), rises from the ashes of forest fires, glacial retreats and soil disrupted by oil spills, construction or other human activities.

Usually growing in dense stands, the tall spires of magenta flowers blooming upwards on arrow-like spikes are easily recognized and beloved by those of us living in the temperate northern hemisphere. Widespread in Canada, the U.S., Britain and Ireland, their lance-like leaves are arranged like a spiral staircase around the stem. (I’d never noticed that!)

Known more poetically as rosebay willowherb in Ireland and Britain, it’s a pioneer species meaning the first plant to colonize barren, scarred and waste areas.

Fireweed’s vibrant presence in post-disturbance landscapes makes this iconic wildflower a symbol of resilience. It thrives where others falter, embodying hope in folklore and mythology, and inspiring me to do likewise.

After the London Blitz during World War II and the resulting widespread fire damage and destruction, Rosebay Willowherb colonized and thrived in the ruins and rubble, earning it the nickname, “bombweed.”

In 2002, fireweed was chosen as the county flower of London, to mark its role of clothing in magnificent pink the bomb-scarred areas of the City, as it slowly recovered from the derelictions and deprivations of war.

Where the red poppy is emblematic of the First World War, fireweed commemorates the Second World War; both flowers reminding us that goodness will appear in the wake and aftermath of evil.

A member of the Evening Primrose family, fireweed can grow to 9 feet high! It’s a valued food for both In­dige­nous com­muni­ties and mod­ern Alaskans. Nutrient-rich in vitamins A and C, young fireweed shoots have a delightful asparagus flavor that can be eaten raw, sautéed or simmered in soups and stews. Animals such as deer, moose, caribou, rabbits, and muskrats find it irresistible.

“When fireweed turns to cotton, summer is soon forgotten,” meaning winter is close behind. The cotton is a mass of specially adapted seeds fitted with tiny, feathery 'parachutes' that are able to disperse across long distances on the slightest breeze. Each plant can produce up to 80,000 seeds and the heat from fires can help to germinate them, hence the name fireweed.

When I was a hiking and rafting guide in the wilderness of Alaska, many long moons ago, I wrote in my journal: I want to be like the fireweed; indomitable, unruffled by disaster or hardship, blossoming anywhere, everywhere, resilient, unbridled and unassuming.

“No one escapes pain, fear, and suffering. Yet from pain can come wisdom, from fear can come courage, from suffering can come strength – if we have the virtue of resilience.” -Eric Greitens

Like the fireweed, no matter the devastation and hurt in life, we are able to re-grow, and to flourish.

Everything in nature has a lesson for us. I’m a perennial student in earth school and I sit at the feet of the fireweed trying to learn its ways.

“They grow in adversity where nothing else does. Yee gu.aa yáx x’wán. Be strong and have courage. Be a Fireweed!” -Yéilk’ Vivian Mork for the Juneau Empire, Jan 20, 2022 (Vivian Mork is Tlingit from Southeast Alaska. She is a raven from the T'akdeintaan clan.)

Be strong and have courage, my friends! Be like the fireweed. Spread beauty.

*(Photos of my daughter in fireweed by Emily Gray Hagen)