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red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque

Jan's catchfly, Nachlinger's catchfly, Nevada catchfly

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.

Silene dioica

Silene nachlingerae

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
from FNA
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]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
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
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. aperta, S. armeria, S. bernardina, S. bridgesii, S. campanulata, S. caroliniana, S. chalcedonica, S. conica, S. coniflora, S. conoidea, S. coronaria, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. douglasii, S. drummondii, S. flos-cuculi, S. gallica, S. grayi, S. hitchguirei, S. hookeri, S. invisa, S. involucrata, S. kingii, S. laciniata, S. latifolia, S. lemmonii, S. marmorensis, S. menziesii, S. nachlingerae, S. nivea, S. noctiflora, S. nuda, S. occidentalis, S. oregana, S. ostenfeldii, S. ovata, S. parishii, S. parryi, S. pendula, S. petersonii, S. plankii, S. polypetala, S. pseudatocion, S. rectiramea, S. regia, S. repens, S. rotundifolia, S. sargentii, S. scaposa, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. serpentinicola, S. sibirica, S. sorensenis, S. spaldingii, S. stellata, S. subciliata, S. suecica, S. suksdorfii, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, S. verecunda, S. virginica, S. viscaria, S. vulgaris, S. williamsii, S. wrightii
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. aperta, S. armeria, S. bernardina, S. bridgesii, S. campanulata, S. caroliniana, S. chalcedonica, S. conica, S. coniflora, S. conoidea, S. coronaria, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. drummondii, S. flos-cuculi, S. gallica, S. grayi, S. hitchguirei, S. hookeri, S. invisa, S. involucrata, S. kingii, S. laciniata, S. latifolia, S. lemmonii, S. marmorensis, S. menziesii, S. nivea, S. noctiflora, S. nuda, S. occidentalis, S. oregana, S. ostenfeldii, S. ovata, S. parishii, S. parryi, S. pendula, S. petersonii, S. plankii, S. polypetala, S. pseudatocion, S. rectiramea, S. regia, S. repens, S. rotundifolia, S. sargentii, S. scaposa, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. serpentinicola, S. sibirica, S. sorensenis, S. spaldingii, S. stellata, S. subciliata, S. suecica, S. suksdorfii, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, S. verecunda, S. virginica, S. viscaria, S. vulgaris, S. williamsii, S. wrightii
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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