Wildflower Week 4

 Hello!

The wildflower for this week makes quite the color show in the summer, meet the...

ROYAL CATCHFLY:

Royal Catchfly

Silene regia

Grows 4-6 feet tall

Ranges in the Central Midwest

Flowers Late June-August

Leaves branch off opposite and the plant is typically covered in small white hairs. There are no extruding branches until the top, where the buds extend into flowers with 5 petals. Red is a very rare color, especially for prairie wildflowers. Red is attractive to butterflies, which are the primary pollinators, especially larger butterflies, including the Black Swallowtail. Another major pollinator is the ruby-throated hummingbird, making the royal catchfly one of the few prairie flowers which is pollinated by hummingbirds. 

Prefers dry, full sun soil, and can perform well in rocky, loam earth. The seeds are small black dots which remain in the flower bud until the wind disperses them, leaving the seeds nearby. In most states where the catchfly occurs naturally, it is deemed endangered. Protect this beautiful wildflower by planting in your backyard, and also introduce to areas where ecological restoration is being performed!

Fun fact: Bees cannot see red in their color spectrum, therefore, they do not pollinate the Royal Catchfly, making reproduction even more difficult. 


https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/royal_catchflyx.htm

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/silene_regia.shtml

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