Unknown Willowherb under study - first year plant

Description:

These plants have been grown from seed in a wet parking strip from seed collected in the fall of 2013. Leaves of one of the ultimately three plants was first observed in June/early July. All three plants started to flower at the same time at a height of just 28 to 29 cm. They appear to be rather quickly forming fruits; this complex is known to be self-pollinating. So far I have not seen any insects visiting these tiny flowers (although, note the nectar guides); nor have I seen in fact any on E. ciliatum complex plants in a number of valley locations.Previously I thought this might be most closely associated with Epilobium glandulosum (syn. E. ciliatum var.glandulosum); however it is not. This species or variety/form is not commonly seen in our area (only two locations known so far along the Wasatch Front and no doubt a result of severe habitat loss).These plants have leaves that are exceptionally "felty" to the touch and generally have hairs throughout which can become less dense in the upper and lowermost sections of the stem. Some of the hairs on the stems in particularly appear to be glandular (although that is not per se an identifying character despite the species name). They are typically singly branched or only branched in upper portion of the plant and not from the base, with leaves that then tend to be more spaced and that tend to droop (rather than remain erect as with E. ciliatum). The leaves are only minutely serrulate and appearing almost entire (which is not the case with most E. ciliatum leaves). Its stems tend to be much more coarse than E. ciliatum and delicate. Its flowers also tend to be a little larger. Both species (and others that are related) tend to initially have leaves that are opposite but that quickly start to become instead alternate. Stigma is clavate and not lobed.August 2, 2014, Salt Lake County, Utah, in horticulture Big Cottonwood Creek drainage, elev. 4,360 ft. (which is also about the same elevation from which the plants are known to occur).