Silene suksdorfi

Cascade Catchfly

Cascade Catchfly
aka Suksdorf’s Catchfly. The key characteristic of catchflys are their ribbed and the more or less inflated calyx formed by five fused sepals. The ribs of Cascade Catchfly have purplish hairs giving a red stripped appearance. The plant forms mats with stems to about 4″ (10 cm) with two to three flowers per stem. The petals of the white flowers are 1/2″ – 3/4″ long. Usually found on talus slopes and along ridges above 6,000′ elevation.

Family:

Caryophyllaceae - PINK FAMILY

Genus:

Silene from Greek sialon 'saliva' referring to sticky hairs of the stem

Species:

suksdorfii after Wilhelm Suksdorf (1850 - 1932), northwest collector
Photo location: Mt. Fremont trail west of Frozen Lake and Sourdough Ridge trail above Sunrise.