Lychnis viscaria Sticky Catchfly

Lychnis viscaria
©Bob Gibbons /Natural Image

A very attractive plant, rather like Red Campion, with a conspicuous spike of red flowers on a tall stem, which is sticky just below each pair of leaves.It often appears in clumps, and can look spectacular in the summer.

Sticky catchfly grows in dry rocky places and can be found at two sites in Wales and about a dozen in Scotland, mainly in the Cairngorms and Ochil Hills.

It is principally threatened by encroaching scrub, which shades it out, or grazing by sheep or deer which prevents it from flowering. In addition, the Welsh sites are threatened by quarrying.

Classified as Near Threatened.