''Epilobium brunnescens'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

belonging to the willowherb

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Epilobium ''Epilobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Onagraceae, containing about 197 species. The genus has a worldwide distribution. It is most prevalent in the subarctic, temperate and subantarctic regions, whereas in the subtropics and ...

'' in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Onagraceae The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

with white or pale pink

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s. It is native to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and south-east

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and has been introduced to Northern Europe. Its common names include New Zealand willowherb in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, creeping willowherb in New Zealand and bog willowherb for the Australian

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

Stace, Clive Clive Anthony Stace (born 1938) is a British botanist and botanical author. He studied at King's College London, graduated from University of London in 1959 and then studied at the Natural History Museum, London. He was awarded a PhD in 1963. H ...

(2010) ''New Flora of the British Isles'', 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press.Carter, Oberon & Neville Walsh (2006
National Recovery Plan for the Bog Willow-herb ''Epilobium brunnescens'' subspecies ''beaugleholei''
, State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment.

Description

It is a low-growing, mat-forming plant with stems that trail along the ground, reaching 20 centimetres in length. The stems have two rows of tiny hairs and have roots at the nodes.Poland, John & Eric Clement (2009) ''The Vegetative Key to the British Flora'', Botanical Society of the British Isles. The flowers have white or pale pink

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s that are 2.5–4 millimetres in length. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are rounded and are usually 3–7 millimetres long, sometimes reaching 10 millimetres. They are purplish below, have smooth or slightly toothed edges and have a 0.5–3 millimetre stalk.

Distribution and habitat

The species is widespread in New Zealand, occurring in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, on

Stewart Island Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a la ...

, in the

Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands ( Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Island ...

and the

Campbell Islands The Campbell Islands (or Campbell Island Group) are a group of subantarctic islands, belonging to New Zealand. They lie about 600 km south of Stewart Island. The islands have a total area of , consisting of one big island, Campbell Is ...

as well as on the Australian possession of

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Protected areas of Tasmania, Tasmania ...

.Flora of Australia Online: ''Epilobium brunnescens'' (Cockayne) P.H.Raven & Engelhorn subsp. brunnescens
. Accessed 14 April 2013. It grows in a variety of habitats, particularly open, shingly riverbeds in areas of high rainfall.Raven, Peter H. & Tamra Engelhorn (1971
New Taxa and New Combinations in Australasian ''Epilobium'' (Onagraceae)
''New Zealand Journal of Botany'', 9 (2): 345-350.Kitchener J. D. & D. R. McKean (1998
Hybrids of ''Epilobium brunnescens'' (Cockayne) Raven & Englehorn (Onagraceae) and their occurrence in the British Isles
''Watsonia'', 22: 49-60. Two subspecies are present in New Zealand: ''E. b.'' subsp. ''brunnescens'' which usually has nodding flowers and ''E. b.'' subsp. ''minutiflorum'' which usually has erect flowers. The subspecies ''E. b.'' subsp. ''beaugleholei'' is restricted to a single site in

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hi ...

in eastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, south-east Australia. It grows on wet, mossy rocks close to a waterfall at an altitude of about 1320 metres. A survey in 2001 found only three patches of the plant, covering a total area of 1 m². The subspecies is considered to be at high risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

due to threats such as rock fall, drought, illegal collection and damage by visitors. ''E. b.'' subsp. ''brunnescens'' has been introduced to Great Britain and Ireland where it was first recorded in 1904 in

Craigmillar Craigmillar (from Gaelic ''Creag a' Mhaol Àird'', "rock of the bare summit") is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Newcraighall to the east. History Despite the relati ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. It spread rapidly from the 1930s onwards and is now widespread in northern and western areas where rainfall and humidity are higher. It has not yet spread to many parts of southern and central England and central Ireland. It occurs in various damp, open, gravelly or stony habitats including hillsides, stream banks, waste tips, stone walls, paths and railway sidings. The species has also been introduced to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

where it was first recorded in 1931 but is still rare.

References

External links

* Online Atlas of the British & Irish Flora
''Epilobium brunnescens'' (New Zealand Willowherb)
* Species Profile and Threats Database
''Epilobium brunnescens'' subsp. ''beaugleholei'' — Bog Willow-herb
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15324346 brunnescens Flora of New Zealand Myrtales of Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of Macquarie Island Plants described in 1971