# Common pitch pink (Viscaria vulgaris)

**Swedish: Tjärblom | English: Sticky Catchfly | Family: Carnation family (Caryophyllaceae)**

The common pitch pink (*Viscaria vulgaris*, syn. *Silene viscaria*) is appropriately called **Tjärblom** (tar flower) in Swedish.

Its stem is covered with a sticky, brown-black secretion layer below the nodes. This natural 'Leimring' hindert krabbelnde Ameisen daran, den wertvollen Blütennektar zu stehlen.

## FAQs

- **Why is the stem of the pitch clove sticky?**: The sticky ring protects the flowers from nectar thieves such as ants. Only flying pollinators can access the nectar.
- **What color flower does Tjärblom have?**: A very intense bright magenta to purplish pink.
- **When is the flowering time?**: June to July.
- **Where does pitch pink grow in Västerbotten?**: On sunny, dry rocky peaks, poor grasslands and gravelly lake shores.
- **How tall does the plant grow?**: Approx. 30 to 60 cm.
- **Which pollinators visit the flowers?**: Long-pronged butterflies and bumblebees that fly safely over the sticky ring.


## Weitere Informationen

- Botanical illustration: Common pitch pink (Viscaria vulgaris), in Swedish'Tjärblom'.
- Spectacular magenta carnation with a sticky 'tar ring' on the stem to protect against ants.