These beautiful weeds grow from three to five feet high around Igiugig. They are one of the first plants to appear here in the spring. The flowers, which bloom toward the top of the weed, are a pinkish purple color. When first blooming, fireweed is a dark magenta color, but after numerous rain showers the flowers turn light pink. At the end of summer fireweed leaves, which are green, turn red, and the flowers wilt - popular folklore says that when this happens, summer is over.
Some local residents make fireweed jelly.
Fiddlehead ferns grow in dark, damp areas, in trees for example. Fiddleheads get their name because the tip of the fern is curled like a fiddle. Residents pick them, peel off the brown outer layer, and they boil them or make agutaq with them. Wild celery and wild spinach also grow on the tundra and taste similar to the celery and spinach found in stores. They are gathered in the summertime and eaten fresh.