Epilobium

Epilobium (or WILLOWHERB, from its characteristic habit and silky-tufted seeds), a widely diffused herbaceous perennial genus of Onagraceæ, common in moist places. E. angustifolium is one of the most familiar denizens of the cottage garden, and is also common in shrubberies. In arctic regions its young shoots are sometimes eaten in case of need, and in Kamchatka a kind of beer is made from the sugary pith. This species, with several others, is common in North America, where it is sometimes called fire-weed, since it often covers the scenes of great forest fires, and sometimes slink-weed, from a belief that it causes cows to 'slink' or miscarry. About a score of other species are occasionally seen in gardens.