Royal Catchfly

Milford Center Prairie SNP.

Maybe some people think roses are red, but Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) is more than red. It is the most red. I can see royal catchfly from a mile away, it is stoplight red, it is bright crimson, it is the most red lipstick. It is blood.

Bigelow Cemetery SNP, July 28 2018.

Royal catchfly is rare and special. For a long time people know this plant from only one place in Ohio, Bigelow Cemetery in the Darby Plains. Happen I went there on July 29 this year, and they were blooming everywhere.

Milfford Center Prairie SNP, July 28 2018.

Later people find royal catchfly in other areas, including Milford Center Prairie also in the Darby Plains.

Huffman Prairie SNL, July 18, 2018.

You can also find royal catchfly in restored prairies where people add them. I saw it bloom in Huffman Prairie State Natural Landmark in mid-July.

Calyx has sticky hairs. Bigelow Cemetery.

It is a catchfly because it has sticky hairs, but more important, it is royal because it is red. If you crush a petal between paper it will stain the paper purple. I don't know if I can make dye from old petals, but if I can grow it myself sometime I will try.

Milford Center Prairie.

I think this is my favorite summer wildflower. If sometime I have a garden I will grow it. Hummingbirds and butterflies love it. Every time I see it I see hummingbirds. Royal catchfly blooms in July and August.