l8 SILENE VIRGINICA. • — VIRGINIAN CATCHFLY. 



flies also do light upon it, they will be so entangled therewith 

 that they cannot fly awa^', so that in some hot days you ma)' see 

 many flies caught thereby, from whence came the name Catch- 

 fly, or Limewort." Our Virginian Catchfly, however, does not 

 trouble the flies much, as it is considerably less sticky than 

 those species which gave rise to the name. For this reason, 

 probably, Catchfly is only given as a secondary designation by 

 Dr. Gray and others, while Fire-Pink, by which name the plant 

 is also popularly known, is awarded the first rank. But still it 

 seems to us that the name " Virginian Catchfly " ought to be 

 retained, as it brings our plant into closer association with the 

 rest of the family. 



The specific appellation " Virginian " might also be objected 

 to as inappropriate, and might perhaps mislead, if these botani- 

 cal designations were looked upon as anything more than mere 

 names. Our plant, like so many other plants, was first made 

 known in Europe through the efforts of John Clayton, and it 

 was called " Virginian," because Clayton lived and collected in 

 Virginia. It is very natural, therefore, that this specific desig- 

 nation should have been retained, even after Plukenet's name, 

 Lvchuis viscosa Virginiana, had been dropped. Virginia, how- 

 ever, instead of being the geographical centre of the home of 

 our species, is almost its southern boundary. According to Dr. 

 Chapman, the plant is only found in the upper districts of the 

 territory covered by his " Flora " ; and Dr. Porcher notes it as 

 occurring near Charleston, South Carolina, which is probably 

 its extreme southern limit, although Prof. Wood extends its ter- 

 ritory to Georgia. The writer of this has collected it in some 

 abundance in Delaware; but north of that State its course is 

 rather westward, for it is found only very sparingly in New 

 Jersey, and seems to be entirely wanting in Eastern New York, 

 as Dr. Gray takes Western New York as its starting-point. 

 There is no evidence of its being found in Pennsylvania. In 

 Ohio, Kentucky, and Southern Michigan, it appears to be gen- 

 eral, but in Wisconsin it becomes rare, and in Iowa it is not 



