SILILNE VTRGTNTCA. 



VIRGINIAN CATCIIl-LV. 



NATURAL ()kl)i:R, CAkV( )I>I I VLLAt K.K 



Sii.KNE ViRciNiCA, Linnaeus. — Clammy-pubcscciU; leaves al)ruptly pointed, the lowest ones 

 clustered, spatulate-obovatc, on fringed petioles, the upper small, remote, lanceolate. Mis- 

 sile; cynics loosely few-flowered; calyx tubular-club-shaped, oblong and nodding in fruit; 

 petals crimson, lanceolate, two-cleft. Stems one to two feet high. Flowers one inch wide. 

 (Vh:iy>m:\Ws F/ora o/i/ig Soiit/u-rn Uuitcd SlaUs. .See also CIray's M.iuual of the Botany 

 of the A'orthcrn United States, and Wood's Class-Book of Botaiiv.) 



I IE genus Silcuc furnishes us witli an interesting col- 

 lection of plants, many of which arc commonly known 

 as "Catchflies." The home of these plants is in the cool or tem- 

 perate parts of the world, and quite a number of them are 

 natives of the United States, where they are about equallv 

 divided between the Atlantic and Pacific sIojdcs of the conti- 

 nent. 



The name Silcuc is an ancient one, and Linnxus .simi)ly 

 adopted it when he constructed his system of botanv. Of the 

 several attempts made to explain it, we shall mention t)nlv one. 

 as it is quite suggestive in connection with the luiglish name 

 Catchily. According to the opinion of Dr. .Asa Grav and 

 other American botanists, Silcuc is derived from the (ireek 

 sialou, saliva, and this designation was chosen because many of 

 the species have a viscid exudation on the stems and calyx. To 

 this exudation the common name, Catchfly, is also due. In 

 the quaint language of Gerarde, one of the earliest known writ- 

 ers on Iinglish gardening: " If you touch [the i)lant] or take [it] 

 on your fingers, the viscousness is such that vour fingers will 

 stick and cleave together, as if vou had touched bird lime. If 



