Small-flowered willowherb

the herb of small-flowered willowherb (Epilobii herba)

Small-flowered willowherb (Epilobium parviflorum) is a slender perennial with hairy leaves and small pink flowers barely a few millimetres across; that is how it is told from the related rosebay willowherb, which has large purple flowers and is not the same thing in herbalism. It grows beside ditches and streams, on damp embankments and in bankside scrub.

The flowering herb is gathered in July and August, in dry weather; the upper third of the shoot is cut. It is dried in the shade, in a thin layer, and stays green after drying.

In herbalism several small-flowered species of the genus Epilobium are used under the name willowherb and are treated together. In Ašič's collection it appears in Willowherb Drops and in Men's Tea.

Use and evidence

The EMA recognises traditional use to relieve the symptoms of the lower urinary tract in benign enlargement of the prostate, once a doctor has ruled out serious conditions. It is not shown to reduce the size of the prostate and it does not treat cancer. EMA.