“Rosebay Willowherb”
This flower spike immediately caught my attention because it appeared to be growing from a Mountain Laurel (and Mountain Laurel doesn’t have showy spikes of flowers). I like the more poetic-sounding name of the plant, Rosebay Willowherb (Epilobium augustifolium) as opposed to the prosaic, common name “Fireweed.”
Bringing beauty from ashes, Fireweed is often the first plant to colonize a burned over or clear-cut area. The plant is edible. Native Americans have long known the value of this plant as food and medicine. A wonderful anti-inflammatory tea can be made from the leaves or the leaves may be eaten in salads. The plant is high in Beta-carotene and Vitamin C.
Time for this week’s Favorite Facebook photos! You may see a few of these throughout the week, but be sure to check back every Friday to see if there were any you may have missed. Feel free to post photos to our wall – even if we can’t share them on our page, we may be able to showcase them here on our website! And of course, keep up with our Facebook page here!
In case you’d like to check out other shots by a few of these professional photographers, we’ve listed their Facebook pages below. Click the links and be sure to give them a “Like” to see all the gorgeous images they show off!
