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