Short-fruited Willowherb - Epilobium obscurum

Medium to tall, somewhat hairy plant, with leafy above ground stolons produced during the Autumn, but not terminating in a rosette. Stems round, with raised lines. Leaves opposite, but the upper few alternate, oval to lanceolate, toothed, unstalked. Glandular hairs on hypanthium. Flowers purplish pink, 7 to 10 mm the petals notched, stigma club shaped.

One of four similar species; E tetragonum, E roseum and E ciliatum also have club-shaped stigma.   E roseum has many glandular hairs and longer petioles, and is on the VC55 Rare Plant Register.  E tetragonum has no glandular hairs and perennates with lax sessile leaf-rosettes. E ciliatum has numerous glandular hairs on the upper parts of the stem, sepals and parts of the fruits, and perennates dense leafy basal rosettes.   Hybrids also occur.  

Either obtain confirmation from a County Recorder before submitting a record, or submit detailed images showing key features.  We recommend that you take and retain a specimen; the County Recorder may wish to see this for confirmation. 

Damp habitats, wet ditches, marshes, water margins.

July and August.

Perennial.

Fairly frequent throughout Britain.

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland.

In the Flora of Leicestershire (Primavesi & Evans, 1988) it was found in 76 of the 617 tetrads.

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