Silene dioica |
Silene laciniata |
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red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
cardinal catchfly, Indian pink, Mexican campion, Mexican pink, Mexican pink or campion |
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Habit | Plants perennial; taproot slender. | Plants perennial; taproot thick, fleshy; caudex branched. | ||||||||
Stems | ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
1–several, straggling to erect, sometimes decumbent at base, simple or much-branched distally, 20–120 cm, puberulent or scabrous-pubescent, sometimes retrorse, often glandular distally, becoming glabrate proximally. |
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Leaves | sessile at mid and distal stem, petiolate to spatulate proximally; petiole equaling or longer than blade of basal leaves; blade ovate to elliptic, 3–13 cm × 10–50 mm (not including petiole), apex acute to acuminate, sparingly pubescent, densely so on abaxial midrib. |
sessile or narrowed at base into pseudopetiole, blade pubescent on both surfaces; proximal with blade lanceolate and oblanceolate, broadest distally or distal often reduced, cauline longest near mid stem, blade linear to lanceolate or elliptic, 1.5–10 cm × 2–30 mm. |
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Inflorescences | dichasial cymes, several- to many-flowered, open, bracteate; bracts lanceolate, 4–20 × 2–7 mm, herbaceous, softly hairy throughout with long-septate hairs, not glandular, or with some glandular hairs. |
from 1-flowered to simple dichotomy to compound and 3–5–many-flowered with elongate branches; bracts small, linear-lanceolate, or resembling leaves. |
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Pedicels | ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
elongate, much exceeding calyx. |
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Flowers | unisexual, some plants having only staminate flowers, others having only pistillate flowers, 20–25 mm diam.; calyx 8–12-veined, campanulate, narrowly so in staminate flowers, broadly in pistillate, 10–15 × to 7 mm in flower, 11 mm broad in fruit, herbaceous, margins dentate, softly pubescent, lobes 5, erect, lanceolate, 2–3 mm; petals bright pink, clawed, claw equaling or longer than calyx, limb spreading horizontally, broadly obovate, unlobed or 2-lobed, to 12 × 12 mm, appendages 4, ca. 1 mm; stamens and stigmas equaling petal claw; styles 5. |
calyx green, 10-veined, broadly tubular, 12–25 × 4–8 mm in flower, narrower towards base, middle broadening to 6–13 mm in fruit, narrower at both ends, pubescent, glandular, lobes lanceolate, 2.5–5 mm, margins membranous or not, apex ± obtuse; corolla scarlet, clawed, claw equaling or longer than calyx, limb lobed, often deeply so, lobes 4–6, linear, lanceolate, or oblong, small lateral teeth may be present, 6–15 mm, appendages inconspicuous, 1–2 mm, dentate; stamens longer than corolla claw but shorter than lobes; stigmas 3, equaling corolla. |
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Capsules | broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
oblong to ovoid or broadly tubular, equaling calyx, opening by 6 ascending teeth; carpophore 2–4 mm. |
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Seeds | dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
reddish brown, broadly reniform, 1.7–2.3 mm, sides tuberculate, margins papillate. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Silene dioica |
Silene laciniata |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||||||
Habitat | Woodlands, hedges, gardens, riverbanks, open waste places | |||||||||
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CT; IA; IL; MA; MD; ME; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; VT; WA; WI; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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AZ; CA; NM; TX; Mexico
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Discussion | Silene dioica is closely related to S. latifolia and completely interfertile with it. The two species hybridize wherever they grow in close proximity, and the offspring (S. hampeana Meusel & K. Werner) usually have pale pink flowers. Silene dioica and S. latifolia are difficult to separate in herbarium material unless flower color has been noted. The characters that distinguish S. dioica are the usually dense, long, and soft pubescence covering at least the distal portion of the plant; the broad, almost globose, thin, and brittle capsule with revolute teeth; and the softer, thinner, usually broader leaves. Occasionally, double-flowered plants are encountered as garden escapes. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora). The large, beautiful scarlet flowers of Silene laciniata are bird- and butterfly-pollinated. The species occurs in three forms. Subspecies laciniata has narrow leaves, much-branched and many-flowered, open inflorescences, and oblong capsules. Subspecies californica has ovate to lanceolate leaves, few-flowered inflorescences, and ovoid capsules. These two entities both occur in California and Mexico. Although they are usually distinguishable, apparent intermediates occur. The third entity is subsp. greggii, which occurs in Arizona, southwestern Texas, and Mexico. It combines characters of the other two subspecies, having broader leaves, a branched and many-flowered open inflorescence, and a capsule of intermediate shape. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 181. | FNA vol. 5, p. 189. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Lychnis dioica, Lychnis rubra, Melandrium dioicum, Melandrium dioicum subsp. rubrum, Melandrium rubrum | Melandrium laciniatum | ||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Clairville: Man. Herbor. Suisse, 146. (1811) | Cavanilles: Icon. 6: 44, plate 564. (1801) | ||||||||
Web links |