Epilobium minutum

Jepson 1993, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Annual forb less than 40 cm tall, subglabrous to strigose, more or less peeling below. Leaves: Alternate to opposite, 5-20 mm, narrowly elliptic to spoon-shaped, subglabrous on petiole 0-5 mm long. Flowers: Strigose raceme with hypanthium 0.5-1 mm; sepals 2-4 mm; petals 2-5 mm, white or pink, stigma sometimes barely lobed. Fruits: Capsule 15-25 mm long, subglabrous, on pedicels 1-7 mm. Ecology: Found in dry, open sites, on slopes and near riparian areas from 500-7,000 ft (152-2134 m); flowers April-August. Notes: Distinguished by being a minute annual with pinkish flowers, 4 petals, each with 2 lobes. Very delicate plant. Ethnobotany: Infusion of roots and stems given to children for diarrhea. Etymology: Epilobium comes from Greek epi, meaning upon and lobos, meaning a pod or capsule, while minutum means very small, minute. Synonyms: None Editor: SBuckley, 2010