A genus of flowering plants in the evening primrose family, commonly known as willowherbs or fireweed, with small pink or purple flowers.
From Greek 'epi-' (upon) + 'lobos' (lobe), named because the seed pod appears to be lobe-like; established as a genus name in 18th-century Linnaean taxonomy.
Willowherb seeds have silky parachutes called pappus structures that let them float on the wind for miles, and they can lie dormant in soil for decades waiting for the right moment—sometimes literally erupting after forest fires!
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