''Viscaria vulgaris'', the sticky catchfly
or clammy campion, is a
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...
.
It is an upright
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
growing to in height. The leaves are
lanceolate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
. The flowers, which are 20 mm across and bright rosy-pink, appear in long whorled spikes from May to August. It grows on cliffs and rocky places.
[''New Flora of the British Isles''; ]Clive Stace
Clive Anthony Stace (born 1938) is a British botanist and botanical author. He studied at King's College London, graduated from University of London in 1959 and then studied at the Natural History Museum, London. He was awarded a PhD in 1963. ...
; Third edition; 2011 printing[The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe; Fitter, Fitter, Blamey; Collins; 3rd edition 1978]
The Latin
name ''Viscaria'' means "sticky", and refers to the stickiness of the stem just below the leaf joints.
The English common names reference the same feature.
''Viscaria vulgaris'' is also grown as an ornamental garden plant. In British horticultural literature it is often referred to by its synonym ''Lychnis viscaria''. The cultivar 'Splendens Plena', a double-flowered form, has won the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
’s
Award of Garden Merit.
File:Silene viscaria Seed.jpg, Seed, background lines are apart
File:Silene viscaria Seed Capsule Whorl.jpg, Whorl of seed capsules, background lines are 5mm apart
File:Silene viscaria Seed Capsule 1.jpg, Seed capsule, viewed from side
File:Silene viscaria Seed Capsule 2.jpg, Seed capsule, viewed end on
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q22113370, from2=Q158946, from3=Q21976214
Garden plants
Flora of Great Britain