Fireweed sightings are surging on nature-tracking apps right now
iNaturalist Community
Phenology
If you spot tall spikes of pink-purple flowers along a recently disturbed trail, roadside, or old burn site this week, there's a good chance you're looking at fireweed in peak bloom.
Fireweed is one of the most-logged plants on iNaturalist this week, with 278 people confirming sightings of it in the wild. This tall pink-flowered plant is famous for being one of the first to pop up after wildfires or land clearing, and this spike in sightings likely means it's hitting peak bloom across a lot of its range right now. It's a great one to look for on a summer hike since the flowers open from the bottom of the stalk upward over several weeks.
Key Findings
278 research-grade observations of fireweed were logged on iNaturalist in a single week
Fireweed ranked among the top trending plant species observed by citizen scientists this period
The species is known as an early colonizer of disturbed ground, including recent burn areas and cleared land
chevron_right Technical Summary
Fireweed is having a moment on iNaturalist, with 278 verified sightings logged in a single week, showing the plant is blooming widely right now and catching the eyes of naturalists across its range.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) — 278 observations this week
fireweed is among the most observed plant species this week with 278 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...