Definition of "fireweed" [fire•weed]

• Any of various plants of the genus Epilobium, especially E. angustifolium, having long, terminal, spikelike clusters of pinkish-purple flowers. Also called willow herb. (noun)
• Any of several weedy North American plants of the genus Erechtites, having small white or greenish flowers grouped in discoid heads. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The amount of bitterness in fireweed shoots varies unpredictably."
• "Spreading rapidly on underground runners, fireweed is one of the first plants to reestablish itself after forest fires."
• "Most dominant was what we call fireweed back home because it’s among the first plants to return after a forest fire."