fireweed

[ fahyuh r-weed ]

/ ˈfaɪərˌwid /

noun

any of various plants appearing in recently burned clearings, as the willow herb, Epilobium angustifolium.

Words nearby fireweed

firethorn, firetrap, firewall, firewarden, firewater, fireweed, firewire, firewood, firework, fireworks, fireworm

Origin of fireweed

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; fire + weed¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for fireweed

Floating in nebulous masses about the blackberry thicket, the delicately conspicuous hue of the fireweed catches the eye.
In the Open|Stanton Davis Kirkham
Fireweed grew low, but the blooms were large and of a deep rose color.
Alaska|Ella Higginson
And everywhere in the burnt areas was the fireweed, that phœnix plant that springs up from the ashes of dead trees.
Tenting To-night|Mary Roberts Rinehart
The fireweed, familiar everywhere in the mountains, shone like a tongue of flame against a background of green.
Jack the Young Canoeman|George Bird Grinnell

There were great fields of fireweed, which presented masses of pink.
Canoeing in the wilderness|Henry David Thoreau

British Dictionary definitions for fireweed

fireweed

/ (ˈfaɪəˌwiːd) /

noun

any of various plants that appear as first vegetation in burnt-over areas, esp rosebay willowherb

Also called: pilewort a weedy North American plant, Erechtites hieracifolia, having small white or greenish flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)

an Australian rainforest tree, Stenocarpus sinuatus, having whorls of bright red flowers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012