Silene laciniata

Cardinal catchfly

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cardinal catchfly is a California native perennial found in southwestern and central coastal mountain ranges in rocky chaparral and woodland habitats, typically growing at moderate elevations. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces bright red flowers in delicate, ascending clusters with distinctive four-part petal lobes that are 6 to 15 millimeters wide. Growing with partially prostrate or reclining stems 20 to 70 centimeters tall, the plant has a sparse caudex with glandular-puberulent stems that are slightly hairy. Its leaves vary dramatically along the stem, with lower leaves being oblanceolate to ovate and measuring 1 to 10 centimeters long, while upper leaves become progressively more linear or widely lanceolate. The fruit develops as an oblong to ovoid capsule containing reddish-brown seeds 1 to 2.5 millimeters in size.

California counties: Riverside, Ventura, Orange, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Kern, Nevada, Monterey, Del Norte, San Francisco, Tuolumne, Mendocino, Lake, Sierra, Siskiyou

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.