Fireweed 9/6/2024

Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) is a plant found throughout Alaska and is known for its beautiful pink flowers. The plant I observed has fully bloomed and is now barren of its blooms, ready for winter.
Fireweed is an amazing plant that grows rapidly through our Alaskan summers, I have personally observed stalks that reached over 7 feet in height. These plants are especially great at growing in areas affected by forest fires, which is where the name fireweed comes from. Its truly both a grim and beautiful experience driving past burned up forests and seeing thousands of bright pink blooms.
Fireweed aren't just a decorative plant though, they can be used in some foods for both humans and animals as well. The inside stalk is actually something that I've eaten quite a few times, it isn't super tasty but it's an interesting texture. More commonly the flowers are what's used in recipes for jellies, beverages and even syrups, where I worked in Palmer Alaska had milkshakes with fireweed syrup that they made themselves, from my experience it has a very sweet unique taste.
Each of these plants can have over 50 small flowers and over 80,000 seeds that are eventually released with a fluffy fiber that can be seen covering the plants after they lose their flowers in the fall. Growing up I was always told that when fireweed loses all its flowers and releases its seeds it signifies the end of summer. This actually varies a lot based on what region you live in and what kind of summer you have had, but it's usually close enough. The one I observed today is absolutely a sign that summer is over and winter is just around the corner.

Posted on September 9, 2024 04:02 AM by ldurkee2