fireweed

[ fahyuh r-weed ]

/ ˈfaɪərˌwid /

any of various plants appearing in recently burned clearings, as the willow herb, Epilobium angustifolium.

Origin of fireweed

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; fire + weed¹

Floating in nebulous masses about the blackberry thicket, the delicately conspicuous hue of the fireweed catches the eye.

In the Open |Stanton Davis Kirkham
Fireweed grew low, but the blooms were large and of a deep rose color.

Alaska |Ella Higginson
And everywhere in the burnt areas was the fireweed, that phœnix plant that springs up from the ashes of dead trees.

Tenting To-night |Mary Roberts Rinehart
The fireweed, familiar everywhere in the mountains, shone like a tongue of flame against a background of green.

Jack the Young Canoeman |George Bird Grinnell

There were great fields of fireweed, which presented masses of pink.

Canoeing in the wilderness |Henry David Thoreau

fireweed

/ (ˈfaɪəˌwiːd) /

any of various plants that appear as first vegetation in burnt-over areas, esp rosebay willowherb

Also called: pilewort a weedy North American plant, Erechtites hieracifolia, having small white or greenish flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)

an Australian rainforest tree, Stenocarpus sinuatus, having whorls of bright red flowers