Pale Willowherb - Epilobium roseum

Short to tall rather slender, somewhat hairy plant. Stem rather brittle with raised lines, with a rosette of leaves at the base in the Autumn. Leaves mostly opposite, lanceolate to elliptical, narrowed at the base, toothed and stalked. Flowers white, becoming pinkish streaked 8 to 10 mm with a club shaped stigma. Many glandular hairs on upper stem, sepals and part of the fruiting structure

One of four similar species; E obscurum, E tetragonum and E ciliatum also have club-shaped stigma.   E tetragonum has no glandular hairs and perennates with loose leaf-rosettes.  E obscurum has few glandular hairs and perennates with leafy stolons. E ciliatum has numerous glandular hairs on the upper parts of the stem, sepals and parts of the fruits, and perennates with dense leafy basal rosettes; E roseum is very similar but has longer petioles.   Hybrids also occur.

Records from this species should be confirmed by a County Recorder for botany.  It is on the VC55 Rare Plant Register, and therefore a specimen should not be taken.  Take detailed field photos and submit to NatureSpot as soon as possible; and if you think you have found it in a new location, inform the County Recorder as soon you can. (RPR)

Damp habitats, pond edges.

June to August.

Perennial.

Occasional throughout lowland England and Wales, scarce in parts of northern England and in Scotland.

Scarce in Leicestershire and Rutland.

In the Flora of Leicestershire (Primavesi & Evans, 1988) it was found in 31 of the 617 tetrads; it was not recorded in the Flora of Rutland (Messenger, 1971)

In the VC55 Checklist (Jeeves 2011) it is listed as Native; scarce

It is on the current VC55 Rare Plant Register (Hall & Woodward, 2022) as Locally Scarce