On a hot day in the mountains, a cool shade of purple beckons in the cool shade of hemlock trees—fireweed!
Fireweed flowers in shade stand out against a sunlight background of yellow-green grasses and shrubs. Click on the photo to go to its location on the website. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
Fireweed (Chamerion angustafolium) is a tall showy wildflower that grows throughout most of North America. It's name derives from the plant's ability to quickly colonize fire-burned areas. It thrives in meadows, along streams and roadsides, and on the forest's edge—sometimes in such abundance that it forms carpets of pink.
Fireweed is a member of the Evening Primrose family (Onagraceae) which contains about 200 species worldwide. The species name "angustifolium" (Latin for narrow leaved) derives from the numerous, long and narrow leaves scattered along the stems. Of interest, the leaves are unique in that the leaf veins are circular and do not terminate at the leaf edges.
Each flower is perched at the end of a long cylindrical capsule bearing numerous seeds that terminate in a tuft of silky hairs that facilitate their airborne transport far from the parent plant. The fluffy seed hairs were used by native peoples as fiber for weaving and for padding. Spring fireweed shoots can be consumed as a tasty vegetable high in vitamins A and C. The flowers produce copious nectar that yields a rich, spicy honey.
On this hot summer day, I was initially drawn to the shade of a copse of hemlock trees where dozens of tall fireweed plants thrust their flowers above the shrubs and ground cover. They seemed to be enjoying the cool of the shade.
Despite the flower's obvious utility, my interest at the moment was purely in its beauty. The even light in the cool shade of the trees made it easier to compose a photograph. While the air temperature was lower, the color temperature the light was higher (bluer), which accentuated the flowers' purple-blue color. The contrasting color of brightly lit yellow-green meadow grasses in the background further emphasized the flowers' beauty.
Not eager to return to the sun and heat, I spent some time with various compositions and settled on this one—a panorama comprised of two separate images stitched together. Only the central flower is in sharp focus.
In reality, this was a very complicated outdoor scene, with many competing contrasty elements. By choosing a long lens and wide aperture, I created a very shallow depth of field. Focusing on the central flower threw everything else out-of-focus—blurring other details and smoothing splashes of color into broad swaths. Only one plant is clearly defined. The identity of the rest is only inferred, but it is enough. We know what they are so we are free to enjoy the harmonious colors.
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