Silene antirrhina
Silene occidentalis
silène muflier, sleepy campion, sleepy catch fly, sleepy catchfly campion, sleepy silene
western campion, western catchfly
erect, simple or branched, slender, to 80 cm, subglabrous to retrorsely puberulent especially proximally, distal internodes frequently glutinous.
erect, simple proximal to inflorescence, 30–60 cm, softly pubescent and stipitate-glandular.
2 per node;
blade with margins ciliate toward base, apex acute to obtuse;
basal blades oblanceolate, spatulate;
cauline narrowly oblanceolate to linear, 1–9 cm × 2–15 mm, scabrous or puberulent, rarely glabrous on both surfaces.
2 per node;
basal ± petiolate, petiole ciliate, blade oblanceolate, spatulate, 5–12 cm × 7–20 mm, apex acute, short-pubescent on both surfaces;
cauline in 3(–4) pairs, reduced distally, blade oblanceolate to lanceolate.
cymose, open, branches usually ascending, several- to many-flowered, 1-flowered in depauperate specimens.
open, narrow, with ascending branches, 9–25-flowered, bracteate, pubescent and stipitate-glandular;
bracts narrowly lanceolate, ciliate.
1/2–3 times longer than calyx.
mature calyx prominently 10-veined, campanulate to ovate, 5–9 × 3–5 mm, margins dentate, glabrous, veins parallel, with pale commissures;
lobes usually purple, triangular, acute, ca. 1 mm;
petals white, often suffused with dark red, rarely wholly dark red, limb ovate, usually 2-lobed, ca. 2.5 mm, slightly longer than calyx, rarely petals absent, claw narrow, appendages 0.1–0.4 mm;
stamens included;
styles 3;
stigmas included.
calyx prominently 10-veined, tubular in flower and fruit, umbilicate, somewhat constricted around carpophore, 15–38 × 3–6 mm, papery, sparsely pubescent and stipitate-glandular, veins parallel, green, with pale commissures, lobes 5, broadly ovate, 2–4 mm, scarious around green midrib;
corolla pink or rose red (rarely white), clawed, claw equaling calyx, limb oblong, fanlike, deeply 4-lobed, lobes divergent, lanceolate (rarely with only 2 lobes, each with small lateral tooth), (7–)10–20 mm, appendages linear, 2–4 mm;
stamens exserted, shorter than petals;
stigmas 3, shorter than petals.
equaling calyx, opening by 6 teeth;
carpophore less than 1 mm.
narrowly ovate-elliptic, longer than calyx, opening by 6 recurved teeth;
carpophore 4–18 mm.
dull gray-black, reniform, 0.5–0.8 mm diam., finely papillate.
grayish brown, reniform, 1–1.5 mm, verrucate.
= 24.
= 48.
Silene antirrhina
Silene occidentalis
The six varieties and forms of Silene antirrhina noted above were named on the basis of stature and flower color, but none appear to be worthy of recognition. The species is very plastic, being greatly affected by moisture, exposure, and nutrients.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The long, tubular calyx and the proportionally long carpophore of Silene occidentalis are remarkable. Plants with the longest calyx tubes (more than 30 mm) have been referred to subsp. longistipitata and appear to be confined to Butte County. Calyx length varies greatly, however, and it is doubtful whether it is a justifiable basis for taxonomic recognition. The deeply lobed pink petals, together with its habit, give S. occidentalis a superficial resemblance to the European S. flos-cuculi, which occurs as an introduction on both sides of the North American continent.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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