Silene menziesii, known with a variety of common names including Menzies’ campion and Menzies catchfly, is a common, low-growing perennial flowering plant in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae).It is native to western North America from Alaska through the western half of Canada to the southwestern United States.It can be found in open coniferous forest and woodlands, roadsides, grasslands, meadows and riverbanks, occurring especially in mountainous areas in the more southern part of its range.
Menzies’ pink has mat- to erect-type morphology, with many branches growing up to about 30cm long and lance-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs.The plant is dioecious with male and female plants producing flowers throughout the summer.Male and female flower types look the same externally; both plants produce loose inflorescences of white flowers with a tubular, greenish calyx enclosing petals deeply 2-lobed at the tip.Stamens are reduced in female plants and stigmas are reduced in the male.Coupled with its dioecious nature, Silene menziesii's variability in flower development and stem/leave texture has resulted in what some consider an unwarrented number of subspecies names.The branches, leaves and calyx of S. menziesii are usually glandular and hairy in texture and the hairs tend to catch small flies, a phenomenon inspiring the common name “catchfly”.
(Flora of North America; Giblin 2014; Jepson Manual 1993; USDA Plants Profile; Wikipedia 2013)
