''Chamaenerion latifolium'' (formerly ''Epilobium latifolium'', also called ''Chamerion latifolium'') is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the English common names dwarf fireweed and river beauty willowherb. It has a circumboreal distribution, appearing throughout the northern regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including subarctic and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...

areas such as snowmelt-flooded gravel bars and talus, in a wide range of elevations.Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
This is a perennial herb growing in clumps of leaves variable in size, shape, and texture above a woody

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a Plant stem, stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, " ...

. The leaves are 1 to 10 centimeters long, lance-shaped to oval, pointed or rounded at the tips, and hairy to hairless and waxy. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

is a rough-haired

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the sh ...

of nodding flowers with bright to deep pink, and occasionally white, petals up to 3 centimeters long. Behind the opened petals are pointed

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s. The fruit is an elongated capsule which may exceed 10 centimeters in length. This arctic plant provides valuable nutrition for the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...

, who eat the leaves raw, boiled with fat, or steeped in water for tea, the flowers and fruits raw, and as a

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a v ...

with meals of seal and

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the f ...

blubber Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. Description Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except ...

. The leaves and shoots are edible, tasting much like spinach, and is also known in the Canadian tundra as River Beauty. It is the national flower of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

The national flower of Greenland: Dwarf fireweed
/ref> with the Greenlandic name ''niviarsiaq'' ("young girl"). Chamerion latifolium upernavik 2007-08-06 2

Chamerion latifolium upernavik 2007-08-06 2

References

External links

*
Washington Flora ChecklistJepson eFloraPhoto gallery
latifolium Edible plants Flora of Greenland {{Myrtales-stub