Silene dioica |
Silene vulgaris |
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red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
bladder campion, common campion, maiden's-tears, silène enflé |
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Habit | Plants perennial; taproot slender. | Plants short-lived perennial, glabrous, rarely pubescent, glaucous; taproot stout; caudex woody. |
Stems | ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
several–many, erect, branched and decumbent at base, rarely simple, 20–80 cm. |
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. |
mainly cauline, 2 per node, sessile, almost clasping, reduced proximal to inflorescence, blade broadly oblong to oblanceolate or lanceolate, rarely ± linear, 2–8 cm × 5–30 mm, base round, apex acute to acuminate. |
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 dichasial cyme, 5–40-flowered, bracteate; bracts much-reduced, lanceolate. |
Pedicels | ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
0.5–3 cm. |
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. |
bisexual and unisexual, some plants having bisexual flowers, others having pistillate unisexual flowers, 15–20 mm diam.; calyx pale green, rarely purplish, campanulate, not contracted at mouth or base, inflated, 9–12 mm in flower, 12–18 × 7–11 mm in fruit, herbaceous, papery, venation obscure, reticulate, without conspicuous pale commissures, margins dentate, lobes broadly triangular, 2–3 mm, glabrous; petals white, ca. 2 times as long as calyx; limb obovate, emarginate to 2-lobed; stamens exserted by 2–4 mm; styles 3, cream to greenish, at most slightly pink tinged, 2 times longer than calyx. |
Capsules | broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
ovoid to globose, equaling calyx, opening by 6 teeth; carpophore 2–3 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
black or nearly so, globose-reniform, 1–1.5 mm, finely tuberculate. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Silene dioica |
Silene vulgaris |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer–fall. |
Habitat | Woodlands, hedges, gardens, riverbanks, open waste places | Roadsides, waste ground, gravel pits and shores, arable land |
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) | 0-2000 m (0-6600 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; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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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.) |
Silene vulgaris is less variable in North America than in its native Europe, where five subspecies are recognized on the basis of capsule size, petal color, leaf shape, and habit. All North American material appears to belong to subsp. vulgaris, although a few collections from sandy habitats tend to have unusually narrow leaves. Similar plants from Europe have been named var. litoralis (Ruprecht) Jalas and subsp. angustifolia Hayek. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 181. | FNA vol. 5, p. 213. |
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 | Behen vulgaris, S. cucubalus, S. inflata, S. latifolia var. pubescens |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Clairville: Man. Herbor. Suisse, 146. (1811) | (Moench) Garcke: Fl. N. Mitt.-Deutschland ed. 9, 46. (1869) |
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