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Epilobium hirsutum

Common name:	Codlins And Cream	Family:	Onagraceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	One report says that the plant might be poisonous[179]. Another says that it causes epileptiform convulsions[240].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to N. E. and S. Africa, temperate Asia.
Habitat:	Stream banks, marshes, drier parts of fens etc, to 360 metres[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Codlins And Cream [P], Codlins-and-cream [B], Fireweed, Great Willow Herb [S], Great Hairy Willow-herb [H], Great Willow-herb [L], Greater Willowherb [MS], Hairy Willow-weed [L], Harig Wilgenroosje [D], Hierba De San Antonio [E], Kaporie Tea [H], Noha [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	hirsutum = hairy
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Myrtales. Evening Primrose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	India Lesotho South Africa Spain Ussr
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 2m. . It is in flower from July to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and hoverflies. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves Tea.

The leaves are used to make a tea[183]. This is often drunk in Russia, where it is called 'kaporie tea'[4]. The leaves are also sometimes sucked for their salty taste[183].
Edible leaves[177]. No more details are given in the report but caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent.

The leaves have been used as astringents, but there are some reports of violent poisoning with epileptic-like convulsions as a result of its use[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils[1]. Prefers a well-drained but moisture retentive soil in a sunny position[200] or in partial shade[187].
A vigorous and invasive plant, only really suitable for larger areas in the wild garden where this habit is not a nuisance[200].
The stems and leaves are covered with a soft down that emits the smell of the Moss Rose and Eglantine. The plants have the refreshing scent of ripe apples[245].
A good late source of nectar for bees[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in situ or as soon as the seed is ripe.
Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Scent

Stem: Crushed: The stems and leaves are covered with a soft down that emits the smell of the Moss Rose and Eglantine. The plants have the refreshing scent of ripe apples.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for epilobium hirsutum (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Onagraceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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