Kendall County (IL) Forest Preserve District
Fire
Pink
Silene virginica
[C-value
10]
Pink family (Caryophyllaceae)
Blooms June - mid-July
The native Fire Pink is a Plants of Concern species with "regionally rare" status in northern Illinois. It prefers partial sun and slightly moist and somewhat poor soil containing clay or rocky material. Habitats include openings in woodlands, rocky wooded slopes and thinly wooded bluffs. It is a fine woodland perennial, 1–2' tall, with sticky opposite leaves and small clusters of scarlet flowers. Each flower is about ¾–1" long and 1–1½" across, consisting of 5 spreading red petals notched at their tips, a tubular green calyx, 10 stamen, and 3 styles. The tubular calyx with ridges along its length is densely covered with sticky hairs to discourage ants from climbing up to steal nectar.
Fire Pink in Kendall Co. private open woods June 10, 2014
Fire Pink in Kendall Co. private open woods June 10, 2014
Fire Pink (note long calyxes) in Kendall Co. private open woods June 10, 2014
Its principal pollinator is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird whose long tongue can reach deep into that long calyx.
Fire Pink in Kendall Co. private open woods June 6, 2016
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Fire Pink foliage in Kendall Co. private open woods June 3, 2013
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