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 | Willowherb Other Names: Son-before-the-Father. Codlings and Cream. Apple Pie. Cherry Pie
Botanical Name: Epilobium hirsutum
Family: N.O. Onagrariaceae |
Description: |
The Great Hairy Willowherb, though it has not so conspicuous a flower as the Rose Bay, is yet a striking plant, growing in great masses by pond sides, along the margins of lakes and rivers and in marshes and pools.
It is tall and erect, branched, with underground creeping shoots, like the Rose Bay. The leaves are placed opposite one another on the stem, are 3 to 5 inches long, their bases clasping the stem and like it, very woolly, hence the specific Latin name hirsutum, and the common English name.
The flowers are numerous and large, rose purple, though not so brilliant as those of theRose Bay, bell-shaped and partly drooping, the petals broad and notched.
In this species, stigmas and anthers ripen together and the plant is capable of selfpollination, but cross-pollination is ensured by insect visitors by the more prominent position of the stigmas. Insect visitors are, however, not very numerous, and in their absence the stigmas curl back and touch the anthers. (In another smaller species, Epilobium parviflorum (Schreb.) rarely visited by insects, four stamens are shorter, four longer than the style; the former are only useful for cross-pollination, the latter selfpollinate the flower. Stamens and stigma ripen simultaneously.)
The seeds, contained in similar long pods, are provided as in the Rose Bay, with a tuft of hairs which aid in wind dispersal.
The leaves, and particularly the topshoots, when slightly bruised, have a delicate, cool fragrance, resembling scalded codlings, whence its popular name of Codlings and Cream, but this fragrance is very soon lost after the plant is gathered. It is also called, in allusion to this delicate scent, Apple Pie, Cherry Pie, Gooseberry Pie, Sod Apple and Plum Pudding. It is said to be the 'St. Anthony's Herb' of antiquity.
The old English country name of 'Son-before-the-Father' arises because, as Lyte says: 'the long huskes in which the seede is contained doe come forth and waxe great before that the flouere openeth.'
The name 'Hooded Willow-herb' does not refer to one of these species, but is another name for the Scullcap (Scutellaria), and the 'Purple Willow-herb' is also not this species, but another name for Lythrum Salicaria, the Purple Loosestrife, a plant that is often present in the same riverside situations.
Although the leaves of E. hirsutum have also been used as astringents there are reports of violent poisoning with epileptic-like convulsions having been caused by its employment. |
Ancient Lore: |
WILLOWHERB (Hairy) EPILOBIUM HIRSUTUM
The root, dried and powdered, is good against haemorrhages.
A perennial growing to about three feet (90 cm) high with a thick, firm, upright stem. The leaves are long and hairy and the flowers large and purplish-pink. Also called the Great Willowherb.
Where to find it: Ditches, sides of streams, damp meadows, and hedgerows.
Flowering time. Midsummer.
Astrology: Under Saturn.
Medicinal virtues: This is cooling and astringent. The fresh juice or the powdered root is taken to stop internal haemorrhaging. They stop looseness of the bowel and other fluxes and also nocturnal pollutions.
Modern uses: This remedy has been discarded by professional herbalists as the use of the leaves has been associated with poisonings and convulsions. See Willowherb (Rosebay). |
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