Fireweed is one of the plants known for quickly growing after forest fires which is how it got it’s name. The plant is stunningly vibrant and beautiful and can be found in a few parts of the world, usually colder, wetter climates.
It has a tall slender stalk anywhere from 18 inches to an incredible 8 feet tall, with long thin leaves scattered up the stalk until the flowerhead, light purple flowers that bloom first from the bottom flowers then work their way up the stalk to the top.
The flowers are edible, having a flowery honey flavor and can be used to make fireweed jelly, tea, candies or syrup.
The young shoots can be cooked and eaten as well, larger stalks can be peeled and eaten as well although the bigger they get, the more bitter they seem to taste.
Tasting wasn’t how I was taken in by a recent sighting of fireweed in Manitoba’s Seal River area along the Hudson Bay.
I went up north for a polar bear expedition of sorts – okay, call it what you will, but let’s just say that I took four airplanes to head to Canada’s Arctic North to stare at polar bears day after day and quite honestly, I never grew bored of watching them.
Seeing them contrasted in the midst of bright pink flowering fireweed is even more mesmorizing even though it wasn’t in its full bloom when I was there in late August.
Whether we were by foot or on one of the quad-like trucks, we saw fireweed everywhere in and around Seal River Lodge, which is a remote lodge run by the Churchill Wild folks, an area you can only get to by sea plane.
Seeing a combination of fireweed and polar bears on a warm summer day….can a hike possibly be any more beautiful?
They are in their full bloom over the summer months and starting in the fall, they start to fade in color and a powdery white ‘fluff’ forms around the plant.
Since we had a relatively calm day, we headed out on boats to an entire island loaded with fireweed. The name? Fireweed Island of course.
The below shots were taken around Hudson Bay and Seal River as well as on Fireweed Island. Also be sure to check out my extensive blog post on Canadian Polar Bears on Churchill Wild’s Hudson Bay and stunning views from a plane ride across the Hudson Bay.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
