E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Epilobium clavatum Trel.
club-fruited willowherb (talus willowherb)
Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #74616)

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Distribution of Epilobium clavatum
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb spreading by basal shoots or wiry suckers from a stem-base or rhizome; stems ascending, 5-20 cm tall, tufted, finely stiff-hairy, especially above.
Leaves:
Elliptic to egg-shaped, 1.2-2.8 cm long, blunt to almost pointed at tips, glabrous or margins and midrib slightly hairy; unstalked or stalks 2-3 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an erect, glandular-hairy, terminal raceme; hypanthium 0.6-2 mm long; petals 3.5-6 mm long, pink to rose-purple, notched at tip; sepals 2.5-4.5 mm long, glabrous or somewhat glandular; styles 1.4-3.2 mm long; stigmas club-like.
Fruits:
Capsules club-shaped, 2-4 cm long, 2-3 mm wide, glabrous or slightly hairy; seeds 1.3-2.0 mm long, net-veined or pimply, tuft of hairs present but easily detached, 5-15 mm long; stalks 2-18 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist rocky or grassy meadows and scree slopes in the montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT, S to CO, UT and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Epilobium clavatum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 1280 1900 2375
Slope Gradient (%) 3 30 85
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		28 175 324
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		1 4 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 17
Modal BEC Zone Class
 ESSF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BAFA(1), ESSF(13), IMA(1), MS(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Epilobium alpinum var. albiflorum (Suksd.) C.L. Hitchc.
Epilobium alpinum var. clavatum (Trel.) C.L. Hitchc.
Epilobium clavatum var. clavatum
Epilobium clavatum var. glareosum (G.N. Jones) Munz

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links


Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
 Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2025-01-23 11:27:35 PM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
© E-Flora BC: An initiative of the Spatial Data Lab, Department of Geography UBC, and the UBC Herbarium.