Silene dioica |
Silene nachlingerae |
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red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
Jan's catchfly, Nachlinger's catchfly, Nevada catchfly |
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Habit | Plants perennial; taproot slender. | Plants perennial; taproot stout; caudex usually branched, woody, producing tufts of basal leaves and 1–several flowering shoots. |
Stems | ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
subscapose, with (1–)2–3(–4) pairs of leaves, 6–25 cm, much reduced above base, retrorsely puberulent, eglandular. |
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. |
2 per node; basal blades oblanceolate, spatulate, 1.4–4 cm × 2–5 mm, base ciliate, apex acute, subglabrous to retrorse-puberulent; cauline shortly connate proximally, blade narrowly oblanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 0.5–3.5 cm × 1–2 mm, apex purple tinged, retrorse-puberulent, often sparsely so. |
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. |
1–3(–4)-flowered, open. |
Pedicels | ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
erect, 1–4 times longer than fruiting calyx, retrorsely puberulent, without glandular hairs. |
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 prominently 10-veined, cylindric, becoming narrowly ovoid, not inflated, not contracted proximally around carpophore, 6–11.5 × 3 mm in flower, broadening to ca. 5 mm in fruit, membranous, uniformly puberulent, without glandular hairs, veins parallel, green, with pale commissures, lobes triangular, 1–1.5 mm, margins narrowly membranous, apex purple-tipped; corolla white, usually flushed with pink or purple towards apex, ligulate to ± oblanceolate, slightly longer than calyx, not clearly differentiated into claw and limb, unlobed to notched, auricles and appendages absent; stamens equaling calyx; styles 3, included in calyx. |
Capsules | broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
ellipsoid-ovoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 6 ascending teeth; carpophore ca. 1 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
rust colored, reniform, 0.7–1 mm, margins papillate; papillae large, inflated. |
2n | = 24. |
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Silene dioica |
Silene nachlingerae |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Woodlands, hedges, gardens, riverbanks, open waste places | Alpine limestone ridges and slopes |
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) | 2500-3000 m (8200-9800 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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NV; UT |
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.) |
Of conservation concern. Silene nachlingerae is a small version of S. invisa, although the latter species has glabrous leaves. Both have the characteristic inflated (balloonlike) papillae around the outer edge of the seed. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 181. | FNA vol. 5, p. 193. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Lychnis dioica, Lychnis rubra, Melandrium dioicum, Melandrium dioicum subsp. rubrum, Melandrium rubrum | |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Clairville: Man. Herbor. Suisse, 146. (1811) | Tiehm: Brittonia 37: 344, fig. 1. (1985) |
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