fireweed
Americannoun
noun
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any of various plants that appear as first vegetation in burnt-over areas, esp rosebay willowherb
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Also called: pilewort. a weedy North American plant, Erechtites hieracifolia , having small white or greenish flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)
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an Australian rainforest tree, Stenocarpus sinuatus , having whorls of bright red flowers
Etymology
Origin of fireweed
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Crew members then brought in native plants such as goldenrod, fireweed, broadleaf lupine, various grasses and other native species along the shore and intertidal zone, said King County ecologist Mason Bowles.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
“Looks like the fireweed is about to burn out,” I said.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2022
The land is dotted with dead “snags” surrounded by thick mats of crisscrossed fallen logs flanked by fireweed, a purple wildflower that thrives in the open spaces left by blazes.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 5, 2021
Writing through his troubles, Specktor offers consolatory beauty, much as fireweed blooms on hillsides after the destruction of a forest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2021
The blueberry bushes have come up, as they do after a fire: first the fireweed, then the blueberries.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
