Fireweed is the tall, magenta-pink spire of Chamaenerion angustifolium (family Onagraceae), a boreal and subarctic wildflower that carpets clearings, burns and roadsides across the northern hemisphere. Every stage is eaten: the young spring shoots are cooked like asparagus, the honey-scented flowers are steeped into jelly, syrup and cordial, and the leaves are wilted and fermented into the Russian black tea called Ivan-chai (koporye tea). The blossoms taste sweetly floral and lightly nectar-like, with a green, faintly astringent edge.