Epilobium angustifolium, Epilobium latifolium, Epilobium tetragonum.

Epilobium angustifolium Linn. Onagraceae. Fireweed. Willow-Herb.

Northern climates. In England, says Johnson, the leaves are much used for the adulteration of tea. The leaves form a wholesome vegetable when boiled, and the young shoots make a good substitute for asparagus. The people of Kamchatka, says Lightfoot, eat the young shoots which creep under the ground and they brew a sort of ale from the dried pith. Richardson says the young leaves, under the name of l'herbe fret, are used by the Canadian voyagers as a potherb.

Epilobium latifolium Linn.

Northern and arctic regions. This species furnishes a vegetable of poor quality for northern Asia and Iceland.

Epilobium tetragonum Linn. Square-Stemmed Willow-Herb.

Europe. This plant is used as a vegetable in Iceland and northern Asia.

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.