Flora-Fauna

Epilobium parviflorum Schreb.

(Spic. Fl. Lips.: 155; 1771 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CXC nº 1; 1969)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb, 30–80 cm tall, with slender rhizomes and erect or ascending, round to slightly angular stems, simple or branched above, usually softly pubescent with glandular and non-glandular hairs.

• Leaves: Opposite in the lower part, alternate above; lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 3–8 × 1–2 cm, sharply serrate, short-petiolate or sessile, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; lower leaves often slightly broader and subcordate at base.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Terminal, elongated raceme with small, pale pink to lilac flowers, 6–10 mm across. Calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, hairy outside; petals notched, about twice as long as the sepals. Stamens 8; stigma deeply 4-lobed, cruciform. Ovary elongated, inferior, pubescent.

• Fruit: Capsule linear, 3–7 cm long, slightly curved, densely hairy, splitting into four valves when mature. Seeds numerous, narrowly oblong, with a terminal tuft of silky hairs aiding wind dispersal.

• Phenology: Flowers from May to September; fruits ripen from July to October.

• Habitat & elevation: Wet meadows, stream banks, ditches, and moist clearings from 300 to 2 000 m. Prefers nutrient-rich, permanently or seasonally damp soils, often in partial shade.

• Lebanese distribution: Frequent in humid montane valleys and along streams, particularly in the Beqaa Valley, Barouk, Ain Zhalta, and Dahr el-Baïdar; locally common in shaded springs and along irrigation channels.

• Native to: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Central European Russia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Korea, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, Madeira, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Xinjiang (POWO).

• Introduced into: British Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Myanmar, New Jersey, New York, New Zealand North, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington (POWO).

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: A widely distributed Eurasian hygrophilous species, Epilobium parviflorum is easily recognised by its small pinkish flowers, hairy capsules, and 4-lobed stigma. It differs from E. hirsutum by its smaller, narrower leaves and slender, less robust stems. In Lebanon, it is among the most common Epilobium species of montane springs and stream edges, often forming colonies with Mentha longifolia, Veronica anagallis-aquatica, and Ranunculus repens.