Silene dioica |
Silene spaldingii |
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red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
Spalding's campion, Spalding's catchfly, Spalding's catchfly or campion, Spalding's silene |
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Habit | Plants perennial; taproot slender. | Plants perennial, viscid; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody, producing several to many shoots. |
Stems | ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
erect, branched, leafy, 20–60 cm, villose-tomentose, viscid-glandular. |
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, connate proximally, sessile, largest in mid stem; blade lanceolate, 3–7 cm × 5–15 mm, apex acute, glandular-tomentose throughout. |
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. |
open, leafy cymes, bracteate, viscid and glandular-tomentose, branches ascending, mostly floriferous, flowers terminal and at distal nodes; bracts leaflike, 5–30 mm. |
Pedicels | ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
shorter than calyx. |
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 obscurely 10-veined, tubular-campanulate, 10–15 × 4–5 mm in flower, becoming clavate and 15–20 × 6–8 mm in fruit, narrowed toward base around carpophore, herbaceous, viscid-pubescent, veins more distinct at base, without conspicuous pale commissures, lobes narrowly lanceolate, 3–6 mm, margins very narrow, membranous, apex blunt; corolla greenish white, clawed, claw equaling calyx, widened distally, limb emarginate, 2 × 4 mm, appendages 4(–6), ca. 0.5 mm; stamens equaling petals; styles 3, equaling petals. |
Capsules | broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
ellipsoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 6 teeth; carpophore 1.5–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
yellowish brown, winged, reniform, ca. 2 mm, rugose; wing broad, wrinkled. |
2n | = 24. |
= 48. |
Silene dioica |
Silene spaldingii |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Woodlands, hedges, gardens, riverbanks, open waste places | Mixed prairie and ponderosa pine forests in swales and on dry hillsides |
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) | 800-1100 m (2600-3600 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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ID; MT; OR; WA; BC
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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.) |
Of conservation concern. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 181. | FNA vol. 5, p. 207. |
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) | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 344. (1875) |
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