Fireweed sightings are spiking on nature apps this week
iNaturalist Community
Native Plants
The tall pink spikes popping up along trails, roadsides, and recently burned or disturbed ground right now are fireweed, one of the first plants to recolonize scorched or cleared land and a magnet for bees.
Fireweed is a native wildflower known for being one of the first plants to bounce back after wildfires or land disturbance, shooting up tall spikes of pink-purple flowers. This week nearly 400 people logged verified sightings of it on iNaturalist, meaning it's blooming heavily right now across its range. If you're out on a summer walk in North America or parts of Europe and Asia, this is peak season to spot it.
Key Findings
386 research-grade fireweed observations were logged on iNaturalist this week
Fireweed ranks among the most-observed plant species on the platform this week
The spike reflects peak summer bloom timing for this fast-colonizing native species
chevron_right Technical Summary
Fireweed is having a big moment on iNaturalist right now, with nearly 400 people logging sightings of its tall pink-purple flower spikes this week alone, a sign that this fast-colonizing native is blooming across its range.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) — 386 observations this week
fireweed is among the most observed plant species this week with 386 research-grade observations.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Chamaenerion angustifolium is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family, Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed and in the British Isles as both fireweed and rosebay willowherb. It is also known by the taxonomic synonyms Chamerion angustifolium and Epilobium an...