Burke: Silene acaulis vs. Silene paradoxa

	Silene acaulis	Silene paradoxa
	moss campion	Silene paradoxa
Habit	Cushion-like perennial from a woody root and branched crown, forming dense mats up to 3 dm. broad; flowering stems 3-6 cm. tall.
Leaves	Leaves mostly basal, staying attached for many years, linear to linear-lanceolate, sessile, 4-10 mm. long, glabrous or scabrous.
Flowers	Flowers single, from nearly sessile or with peduncles up to 4 cm. long, usually dioecious; calyx tubular, 5-lobed, 3-10 mm. long, pinkish; petals 5, pink to lavender, 8-12 mm. long, the claw about twice as long as the blade; blade appendages 2, very small or lacking; stamens 10; styles 3.
Fruits	Capsule 3-celled, opening by 6 teeth.

	Silene acaulis	Silene paradoxa
Flowering time	June-August	June-August
Habitat	Rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations in the mountains	Serpentine and ultramafic substrates in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring in the Cascades and Olympic Mountains in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, and east across Canada to northeastern North America; circumboreal. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on Three Sisters Mountain in Whatcom County in Washington, where intentionally introduced and persists; not known elsewhere in North America.
Origin	Native	Introduced from Europe
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. antirrhina, S. bernardina, S. conoidea, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. gallica, S. latifolia, S. menziesii, S. noctiflora, S. oregana, S. paradoxa, S. parryi, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. spaldingii, S. suksdorfii, S. vulgaris	S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. bernardina, S. conoidea, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. gallica, S. latifolia, S. menziesii, S. noctiflora, S. oregana, S. parryi, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. spaldingii, S. suksdorfii, S. vulgaris
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Silene acaulis

Silene paradoxa

moss campion

Silene paradoxa

Habit

Cushion-like perennial from a woody root and branched crown, forming dense mats up to 3 dm. broad; flowering stems 3-6 cm. tall.

Leaves

Leaves mostly basal, staying attached for many years, linear to linear-lanceolate, sessile, 4-10 mm. long, glabrous or scabrous.

Flowers

Flowers single, from nearly sessile or with peduncles up to 4 cm. long, usually dioecious;

calyx tubular, 5-lobed, 3-10 mm. long, pinkish;

petals 5, pink to lavender, 8-12 mm. long, the claw about twice as long as the blade;

blade appendages 2, very small or lacking;

stamens 10;

styles 3.

Fruits

Capsule 3-celled, opening by 6 teeth.

Silene acaulis

Silene paradoxa

Flowering time

June-August

Habitat

Rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations in the mountains

Serpentine and ultramafic substrates in the mountains.

Distribution

Occurring in the Cascades and Olympic Mountains in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, and east across Canada to northeastern North America; circumboreal.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring on Three Sisters Mountain in Whatcom County in Washington, where intentionally introduced and persists; not known elsewhere in North America.

Origin

Native

Introduced from Europe

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa