Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Epilobium sarmentaceum
Common name
Mountain willow-herb
Family
Onagraceae
Where found
Alpine herbfields, grasslands, and rocky areas at high altitudes. Kosciuszko National Park and the western edge of the ACT.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.45 m tall, usually retaining dead leaves near the base, rhizomatous. Stems hairy with short curved hairs, occasionally with a few glandular hairs in the flowering region. Leaves opposite each other, alternating up the stems near the flowers, 1–5 cm long, 3–15 mm wide, margins with sparse small teeth, and sometimes wavy. Flowers white, pink, mauve, or purplish pink, with 4 notched petals each 3-8 mm long, hairless on the inner surface of the short floral tube. Flowers single. Flowering: summer. Seed cases 2–6 cm long, often reddish purple, covered with short crinkly hairs; on stalks 15–50 mm long.
Definite identification of Epilobium species requires microscopic examination of the seeds.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
Rare Vic.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Epilobium~sarmentaceum (accessed 12 January, 2021)
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