Fireweed vs Yellow Mountain Avens - TreeTime.ca

Fireweed vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Chamaenerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium)

Dryas drummondii

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Fireweed
Yellow Mountain Avens

Fireweed is a native perennial wildflower known for its tall spikes of bright pink to purple blooms. Its long-lasting summer flowers are an important nectar source for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, while its seeds provide food for birds. Its showy, long-lasting display makes it visually striking in naturalized plantings.

Fireweed gets its namesake because it is often one of the first species to return after wildfires, supporting ecosystem recovery. Its wind-dispersed seeds allow it to spread readily, making it highly effective in large-scale restoration, revegetation, and naturalization projects.
Fireweed is the Provincial Flower of the Yukon.

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

Fireweed Quick Facts

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 1b
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, dense, colony-forming
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Spreading: seeds - high, rhizomes - high
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Flowers: pink-purple spikes
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Bloom time: mid summer to fall
Bloom time: spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NL, YT, NT
Other Names: fire weed, great willowherb, rosebay willowherb, willow herb
Other Names: drummonds dryad, drummonds mountain avens, yellow dryad