One of my favorite wildflowers is Fireweed. A fairly common plant in northern regions, it’s generally found in open meadows. Fireweed is especially prevalent in areas that were just burned out (hence it’s name) or that were recently logged, making it a “pioneer species”.
Here are some of the plant’s specifics: Fireweed is the territorial flower of the Yukon. Fireweed is a perennial plant with pink to rose to purple flowers. The plant grows from 0.5 to 3 metres in height. In the fall, the leaves show beautiful colors, ranging from burnt red to burgandy, making a thick growth of fireweed especially beautiful. Honey gather from fireweed blossoms has a distinctive flavor (slightly spicy but sweet) but is difficult to find.
Natives ate the leaves of the fireweed plant as it’s emerging from the ground. As the plant matures the leaves become chewy, so the stem can be eaten at this point and is a good source of vitamins. The plant is said to have medicinal qualities used in wound healing.
