''Silene virginica'', the fire pink,
is a
wildflower in the pink family,
Caryophyllaceae. It is known for its distinct brilliant red
flowers. Fire pink begins blooming in late spring and continuing throughout the summer. It is sometimes grown in wildflower, shade, and rock
gardens.
Description
''S. virginica'' is a small, ( tall, short-lived
perennial (2–3 years), with lance shaped leaves. Its stems, and the bases of the flowers, are covered in short sticky hairs. Each flower is approximately five centimeters in diameter and composed of five notched, brilliant red
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s which extend into a long tube.
Distribution and habitat
Fire pink grows in open woods and rocky deciduous slopes in central and eastern North America, from Texas to the west, Florida to the south, New York to the east, and ranging as far north as extreme southern
Ontario.
[ It is protected as a state endangered species in Wisconsin, Florida, and Michigan. It is imperiled in Louisiana.
]
Ecology
Fire pink's principal pollinator
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Insects are the maj ...
is the ruby-throated hummingbird (''Archilochus colubris''), which is attracted by the flowers' bright red petals and sugary nectar.Fenster et al. 2006. Nectar reward and advertisement in hummingbird-pollinated Silene virginica (Caryophyllaceae). American Journal of Botany. 2006;93:1800-1807.
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Varieties
There are two recognized varieties of fire pink.[ Most plants of this species are classified as ''Silene virginica'' var. ''virginica'', however an endemic variety occurs in West Virginia called ''Silene virginica'' var. ''robusta''.
]
References
Image:Silene virginica.png, ''Silene virginica'' in Shades State Park, Indiana.
Image:Fire_pink.png, A fire pink in Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park is an American national park in west-central Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper Sout ...
.
Image:Silene virginica.jpg, ''Silene virginica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q951243
virginica
Flora of Northern America
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus