catchfly
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catch·fly
(kăch′flī′, kĕch′-)n.
Any of several plants of the genera Silene and Lychnis, native chiefly to the Northern Hemisphere and having white, pink, red, or purplish flowers and sticky stems and calyces on which small insects may become stuck.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
catchfly
(ˈkætʃˌflaɪ)n, pl -flies
(Plants) any of several caryophyllaceous plants of the genus Silene that have sticky calyxes and stems on which insects are sometimes trapped
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
catch•fly
(ˈkætʃˌflaɪ)n., pl. -flies.
any of various plants of the pink family, esp. of the genera Silene and Lychnis, that have a viscid secretion on the stem and calyx in which insects are sometimes caught.
[1590–1600]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  catchfly - any plant of the genus Silene flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms genus Silene - large widely distributed genus of plants having mostly showy flowers of various colors: campion; catchfly moss campion, Silene acaulis - tuft- or mat-forming dwarf perennial of Arctic regions of western and central Europe and North America Silene caroliniana, wild pink - perennial of eastern and central North America having short-stalked pink or white flowers in hairy clusters Lychnis dioica, red bird's eye, red campion, Silene dioica - biennial European catchfly having red or pink flowers; sometimes placed in genus Lychnis evening lychnis, Lychnis alba, Silene latifolia, white campion, white cockle, bladder campion - bluish-green herb having sticky stems and clusters of large evening-opening white flowers with much-inflated calyx; sometimes placed in genus Lychnis fire pink, Silene virginica - perennial herb of eastern North America, having red flowers with narrow notched petals bladder campion, Silene uniflora, Silene vulgaris - perennial of Arctic Europe having large white flowers with inflated calyx |
| 2. |  catchfly - mostly perennial herbs with sticky stems that catch insects; widespread in north temperate zoneflower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms genus Lychnis - genus of plants strongly resembling those of genus Silene: catchfly Lychins floscuculi, Lychnis flos-cuculi, ragged robin, cuckoo flower - common perennial native to Europe and western Asia having usually pink flowers with ragged petals Lychins chalcedonica, maltese cross, scarlet lychnis - Eurasian garden perennial having scarlet flowers in dense terminal heads gardener's delight, Lychnis coronaria, mullein pink, rose campion, dusty miller - an old cottage garden plant of southeastern Europe widely cultivated for its attractive white woolly foliage and showy crimson flowers |
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