On 2/6/08 20:22, in article
, "Rob"
wrote:

On Jun 2, 7:22*pm, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:
snip

It's not one of the larger flowered ones (angustifolium and hirsutum).
I'd guess that it's Epilobium montanum (broad-leaved willow-herb), as
that's the commonest of the small-flowered species, but the books don't
specifically mention is having vertically running ridges on the stem.

The key characters for E. montanum are a four-lobed stigma, all stem
leaves in pairs, and sessile (or at most shortly petiolate at the base).
E. lanceolatum (narrow-leaved willow-herb) also has a four-lobed stigma,
but the upper leaves are alternate (borne singly), and the leaves are
petiolate (stalked) and cuneate at the base. If it has a club-shaped
stigma there's several possibilities. One feature worth checking is the
number of vertically running ridges on the stem.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you all for your authoritative answers.
Willow herb : that is the direction I will look in to try and pin it
down a bit more.
And refresh my botany terms . . .
Rob

Don't bother. If it's a plant where you don't want it, pull it out! ;-))
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'