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Bog Willowherb

Epilobium leptophyllum

Found in bogs, fens, seepages, and boggy meadows. 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
About 3.6 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

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
April to October
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 12 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 3

Seeps and springs

Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep
Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

Meadows

Open, grassy or flowery ground that is not wet, such as mountain meadows; wet meadows are separate.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 131 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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
Slow
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “April to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Red” · USDA PLANTS · 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 · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Height · “About 3.6 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), Minnesota Wildflowers differ) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
  • Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • primary_flower_color · “red” · USDA PLANTS
  • Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

American Marsh Willow Herb; Bog Willow Herb

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2S3
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources