Silene dioica |
Silene uralensis |
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red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
apetalous catchfly, mountain campion, nodding campion, Spalding's campion |
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Habit | Plants perennial; taproot slender. | Plants perennial, cespitose or not; taproot stout. | ||||||||
Stems | ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
erect, branched or simple, 5–40 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
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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. |
basal few or numerous, petiolate, blade narrowly oblanceolate, spatulate, 1–13 cm × 1–7 mm, margins ciliate, glabrous or pubescent; cauline in 1–5 pairs, sessile, much reduced distally, blade linear to lanceolate, 0.1–4 cm × 1–5 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. |
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Pedicels | ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
slender or stout. |
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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. |
erect or nodding; calyx prominently 10-veined, ovate-elliptic to broadly campanulate, inflated, 11–18 × 6–13 mm, thin and papery, veins purple or brown, lobes ovate to triangular, 2–3 mm; corolla dingy pink, purple, or red, claw shorter than to equaling calyx, limb not differentiated from claw, ovate or obovate, unlobed to 2-lobed, 1–4 mm; stamens shorter than petals; styles 5, shorter than petals. |
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Capsules | broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
equaling to slightly longer than calyx, opening by 10 recurved teeth; carpophore 1–2 mm. |
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Seeds | dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
brown or sooty brown, broadly winged, round to ± angular, 1.5–2.5 mm diam. including wing. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Silene dioica |
Silene uralensis |
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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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AK; CO; MT; UT; WY; AB; BC; MB; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Canada; Greenland; nw United States including Alaska; e Asia (Russian Far East, Siberia)
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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). Silene uralensis is a very variable species complex. Recently, A. Kurtto (2001) has resurrected S. wahlbergella as a species distinct from S. uralensis, differing in its shorter petals and larger capsule. It appears to be confined to Scandanavia and adjoining arctic Russia. North American reports of S. wahlbergella (and its synonym Lychnis apetala) are all referable to S. uralensis. (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. 209. | ||||||||
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 | Gastrolychnis uralensis | ||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Clairville: Man. Herbor. Suisse, 146. (1811) | (Ruprecht) Bocquet: Candollea 22: 25. (1967) | ||||||||
Web links |