Purpleleaf Willowherb
Epilobium coloratum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in seepages, streambanks, other moist open places. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Full to part sun
- Soil moisture
- Average to wet
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to October
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 6 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Who uses this plant?
14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Epilobium
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
- Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
- Anticlea multiferataMany-Lined Carpet
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Eulithis diversilineataLesser Grapevine Looper Moth
- Eulithis gracilineataGreater Grapevine Looper
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Oidaematophorus eupatoriiEupatorium Plume Moth
Show all 14
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Proserpinus gauraeProud Sphinx
- Proserpinus juanitaJuanita Sphinx
- Dichomeris washingtoniella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Epilobium
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Flower color
- Red
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “2–3 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full to part sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Soil · “wet to medium” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Also known as
Purple Leaf Willow Herb
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Spreads slowly. Spreads slowly by re-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications