fireweed, Chamaenerion angustifolium

Fireweed is another protandrous sequential hermaphodite, which all turns out to be a clever way to avoid self pollination. Protandrous flowers have either pistils or stamens fully developed before the other. That enables the sequential hermaphodism, which is a slightly different way to describe the same syndrome. Having precocious pistils is also an advantage because bees tend to forage from bottom to top. With the pistils active first, and the flowers opening from bottom to top, the pollinators are less likely to carry pollen to newly active stigmas on the same plant. Fireweed grows in open areas in AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN(E), MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH(E), OR, PA, RI, SD, TN(S), UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY, in all of Canada, and on GL and SPM. Sawyer Co WI, 7/11/11.