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night-flowering catchfly

Spalding's catchfly, Spalding's silene

Habit Annual with 1-3 simple or branched stems, 2-6 dm. tall, stiff-hairy throughout and glandular-pubescent above. Woolly, viscid perennial from a simple or branched crown, the stems 2-6 dm. tall.
Leaves

Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-oblanceolate, 5-12 cm. long and up to 4 cm. broad, the lower ones long-petiolate, the upper sub-sessile.

Cauline leaves 5-7 pairs, oblanceolate below and lanceolate above, 6-7 cm. long and 5-15 mm. broad, sessile.

Flowers

Flowers few to several in an open inflorescence, the pedicels 3-30 mm. long;

calyx 5u00e2u20acu201clobed, tubular, 15 mm. long at flowering, much enlarged in fruit, 10-nerved, the lobes lance-linear, 5-9 mm. long;

petals 5, white to pinkish, glabrous, the claw 12-25 mm. long, auriculate above, the blade 7-10 mm. long, bi-lobed less than half the length;

blade appendages 2, 0.5-1.5 mm. long and broad;

stamens 10;

styles 3. Flowers open at dusk.

Flowers several to many in a leafy, compact inflorescence;

calyx 5-lobed, tubular, about 15 mm. long, 10-nerved;

petals 5, white, the claw about 15 mm. long and the blade 2 mm. long, ovate, entire; appendages four, 0.5 mm. long;

stamens 10;

styles 3.

Fruits

Capsule 3-celled.

Capsule 1-celled.

Silene noctiflora

Silene spaldingii

Flowering time June-August June-July
Habitat Grain fields and waste areas. Sagebrush, scabland and ponderosa pine forests.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Yukon Territory to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring east of the Cascades crest in the eastern and southeastern counties in Washington; eastern Washington to adjacent northeastern Oregon and western Idaho, also in western Montana.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced from Europe Native
Conservation status Not of concern Threatened in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. bernardina, S. conoidea, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. gallica, S. latifolia, S. menziesii, 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. paradoxa, S. parryi, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. suksdorfii, S. vulgaris
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