Purpleleaf Willowherb
Epilobium coloratum
Found in seepages, streambanks, other moist open places. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
44
Good
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Full to part sun
- Soil moisture
- Average to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to October
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 88 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Streams, rivers and their banks
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Epilobium
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
- Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
- Anticlea multiferataMany-Lined Carpet
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Eulia ministranaFerruginous Eulia
- Eulithis diversilineataLesser Grapevine Looper Moth
- Eulithis gracilineataGreater Grapevine Looper
- Eupithecia satyrataSatyr Pug
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
Show all 18
- Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Oidaematophorus eupatoriiEupatorium Plume Moth
- Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Spargania magnoliataDouble-Banded Carpet
- Trichodezia albovittataWhite-Striped Black
- 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
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Flower color
- Red
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (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
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Spreads slowly. Spreads slowly by re-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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