Silene gallica |
Silene scaposa |
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common catchfly, silène de france, small-flower catchfly, windmill campion, windmill pink |
Blue Mountain catchfly, Robinson's catchfly, stem campion |
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Habit | Plants annual; taproot slender. | Plants perennial, subscapose, cespitose; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. |
Stems | erect, branched, rarely simple, 15–45 cm, with long, often crinkled hairs mixed with short pubescence, viscid-glandular distally. |
several, erect, simple, 15–50 cm, puberulent, viscid-glandular distally. |
Leaves | 2 per node, blade with coarse, ascending, scabrous pubescence on both surfaces; basal few, withering, blade oblanceolate to spatulate-petiolate, 0.5–5 cm × 3–15 mm; cauline blades oblanceolate to lanceolate, 1–7 cm × 1–15 mm, apex obtuse or shortly acuminate to acute. |
mostly basal; basal marcescent, long-petiolate, densely tufted, blade 1-veined, narrowly oblanceolate, 2–10(–20) cm × 2–12(–20) mm, not fleshy, base tapering to petiole, apex acute to obtuse, finely puberulent on both surfaces; cauline in 1–3 pairs, sessile, much reduced, blade linear-lanceolate, not fleshy. |
Inflorescences | open, with racemose branches, internodes and bracts usually ca. equaling fruiting calyx, 1–5 mm, longer proximally. |
1–5(–7)-flowered, with terminal flower and lateral, open, pedunculate cymes often reduced to single flowers, bracteate; bracts narrowly lanceolate, 3–10(–20) mm. |
Pedicels | erect, elongate, 0.5–4.5 cm, glandular-puberulent. |
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Flowers | 5–8 mm diam.; calyx prominently 10-veined, narrowly tubular-ovoid in flower, ovoid in fruit, constricted at mouth, 7–10 × 3–5 mm, membranous between veins, margins dentate, hispid, hairs ca. 2 mm, veins parallel, lobes lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm, apex greenish purple, acute; petals white or pink, often with dark spot or dark pink throughout, clawed, claw equaling calyx, limb elliptic to obovate, lobed or unlobed, to 6 mm, appendages 2, oblong to narrowly lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm; stamens equaling or shorter than calyx; stigmas 3, included in calyx. |
calyx prominently 10-veined, those to lobes lance-shaped broadened and thickened distally, commissural veins slender, not forked distally, campanulate, 10–12 × 3.5–5 mm in flower, enlarging to 15 × 10 mm in fruit, not contracted around carpophore, papery, margins dentate, glandular-pubescent, viscid, veins parallel, with pale commissures, lobes patent, ovate, 1.5–4 mm, rigid, margins broad, membranous; corolla off-white to dingy purple-red, clawed, claw exceeding calyx, ciliate proximally, broadened distally, limbs erect, 2–4-lobed, less than 1/2 length of calyx, lobes 2–5 mm, appendages 2–4, 0.5–1 mm; stamens slightly exserted; filaments lanate, expanded at base; styles 3–5, ± equaling calyx. |
Capsules | equaling calyx, opening with 6 recurved, narrowly triangular teeth; carpophore shorter than 1 mm, pubescent. |
slightly longer than calyx, opening by 3–5 teeth; carpophore 1.5–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | dark reddish brown, reniform, angular with concave, radially ridged faces, broad outer edge transversely ridged and verrucose, ca. 0.5 mm broad. |
brown, reniform, 1.2–2 mm, margins with large, inflated papillae, rugose on sides. |
2n | = 24. |
= 48. |
Silene gallica |
Silene scaposa |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Flowering early summer. |
Habitat | Dry, open places, sandy and gravelly ground, roadsides, waste land | Subalpine grassy, gravelly, or rocky slopes, ponderosa pine forests, juniper scrub, sagebrush |
Elevation | 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft) | 900-3000 m (3000-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AZ; CA; FL; ID; LA; MA; ME; MO; MS; NC; NH; NY; OR; PA; RI; SC; TX; WA; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced worldwide]
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CO; ID; NV; OR
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Discussion | Silene scaposa is a very distinct species with its subscapose inflorescence, coronalike ring of short petals, and distended fruiting calyx in which the veins to the lobes are markedly broadened and lanceolate. Variation in lobing of the corolla has been the basis for recognizing two varieties: var. scaposa (var. typica C. L. Hitchcock & Maguire), which has two-lobed petals, and var. lobata, which has four-lobed petals. However, these differences appear to be of little significance. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 185. | FNA vol. 5, p. 202. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. anglica, S. quinquevulnera | S. scaposa var. lobata |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 417. (1753) | B. L. Robinson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 28: 145. (1893) |
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