"July is a major month for mixed forbes in much of the tall grass prairie, and perhaps the most eye catching species in this deeply imbricated prairie mosaic is the Royal catchfly, Silene regia.
However, in more ways than just aesthetic; this plant is of extreme interest in what it can represent.
Lets start with the idea of the caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family, is from a highly evolved and dynamic ecologically and morphologically spectacular order (sundews, flytraps, catchflies, beats, cacti) caryophyllales. Amaranthaceae a highly glandular family and another family known for its aquatic and highly specialized roots evolved for gas exchange (pocketed pneumatophores ) the polygonaceae is also housed under this order. Glands in many of these groups are highly evolved to specifically aid in different needs; Drosera spp. Or sundews have glands that are critical for nutrient aquisition, others in the amaranthaceae are known for scent production, and for this catch fly it is mainly assumed its to act as a herbivory deterant. With that said, some evolutionary botanists are looking at potential protocarnivory derived from mutualistic bacterial interactions with the insects caught in royal catch fly glands that may allow nutrient transfer. True carnivory differs by utilizing direct sequestration from absorption ultrastructural cells and cells under glandular cells that aix in the transport of proteases for break down, which catch fly has been declared incapable of directly. Dienno et. al. 2017 ( Dr. Munson, Dr. Hickey, Dr. Moore, Dr. Vincent, Dr. Huerta from MU). (Available on OhioLink for full pdf)
