Red Catchfly - Silene dioica
Other Names:
Red Campion,
Lychnis dioica
Dioecious short-lived perennial with hirsute foliage and a branched caudex. Stems erect, 40–80 cm. Leaves: basal oblong, withering by flowering time; cauline elliptic, 3–10 cm long. Inflorescence an open, glandular, several-flowered cyme. Flowers unisexual; calyx 1–2 cm long, purplish, with septate hairs, tubular with lobes 2–4 mm long, becoming ovate in fruit; petals pink to purplish, 2-lobed with 4-lobed appendages; the blade 10–15 mm long; styles 5. Capsule ovoid, equaling the calyx, opening by 5 slits (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus vagans,
Bombus pensylvanicus, and
Bombus impatiens (Colla and Dumesh 2010).