Fireweed

In many photos of Alaska, you will notice an abundance of the flowering herb known as fireweed. When I first saw a field of this pink petaled beauty - it took my breath away! I asked one of my friends who was a long time Alaskan, how it got the name fireweed - since it was covered with those lovely pink petals....she responded that it gets its name because it grows easily at the sites of forest fires.

The plant does like slightly acidic soil. It colonizes quickly as long as their is plenty of light (which we have in summer!) and open space (another thing we have plenty of!). The plant, besides it beauty is useful as a source of Vitamin C and A. The native Alaskans use the plant as a food source and for medicinal purposes as well. I have used it to make jam and jelly it is of a sweet/spicy delicate flavor. Delicious!

Fireweed has the pink flowers during the summer months. The petals start out blooming at the middle of the stalk and continue to bloom up the stalk as the summer progresses, it is said that you know summer is over when the flowers reach the top!" One of the other reasons it may have been tagged "Fireweed" is once the flowers are done blooming, the stalk turns a reddish colour.