The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: fire-pink

Family: Caryophyllaceae (pink family)

Distribution: c. and e. North America

Habitat: Deciduous woodlands, bluffs, moist wooded slopes; 200-1300 m

Life form: Herbaceous perennial

Comments: A native wildflower that commonly grows in open woods, thickets, or meadows, fire pink will certainly set your heart afire! Its brilliant scarlet red flowers appear in April and continue blooming through summer. The flowers are composed of five spreading petals that are notched at the tips and united into a long tube. The bases of the flowers and the stems are covered in short sticky hairs that can trap insects, which give it its other common name of "catchfly." Ruby-throated hummingbirds adore this plant and are the principal pollinators.