Tiny purplish solitary flowers bloom in upper leaf axils in early spring. Juicy black berries ripen in late summer and may remain on the bush through fall and winter. Fireweed is an attractive, vigorous colonizer of disturbed areas. The young shoots and leaves are edible. Mature leaves can be dried and used to make tea.
Alternate leaves are willow-like and are darker on the upper surface than underneath.
Rich wet forest edges on Rabbit Run and Brook Trail Horsetails are sometimes called 'scouring rushes' because of their appearance and their abrasiveness due to silica content which explains their once common use for scrubbing pots and pans. This ancient plant is well represented in the fossil record and appears to have changed little since the Paleozoic Era. Highly branched shoots grow from the upper part of the stem in horizontal whorls. The plant may reach 30 cm. Reproduction is by spores.