Silene noctiflora |
Silene dioica |
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night-flowering campion, night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene, silène noctiflore, sticky cockle |
red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
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Habit | Plants annual, densely pubescent throughout, viscid-glandular, especially distally; taproot slender. | Plants perennial; taproot slender. |
Stems | erect, simple proximal to inflorescence or with few basal branches, branched distally, to 75 cm. |
ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
Leaves | 2 per node, gradually reduced distally; basal blades oblanceolate, 6–12(–14) cm × 20–45 mm; cauline blades ascending, conspicuously veined, broadly elliptic to lanceolate, 1–11 cm × 3–40 mm, apex acute, shortly acuminate, densely pubescent on both surfaces. |
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. |
Inflorescences | cymose, 3–15-flowered, bracteate; cyme open, flowers held on ascending branches; bracts leaflike, narrowly lanceolate, 1–5 cm, apex acuminate. |
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. |
Pedicels | ascending, straight, 1/3–3 times longer than calyx. |
ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
Flowers | nocturnal, 20–25 mm diam.; calyx prominently 10-veined, ovate-elliptic, fusiform, narrowed to both ends and constricted around carpophore, 15–24(–40) × ca. 3 mm in flower, swelling to 10 mm diam. in fruit, thin and papery, margins dentate, with pale commissures; lobes erect, often recurved in fruit, linear-lanceolate, long, narrow, (3–)5–10(–15) mm, apex acuminate, short-pubescent, glandular, interspersed with long eglandular hairs, veins anastomosing; corolla white, often pink tinged, clawed, claw equaling calyx lobes, limb deeply 2-lobed, lobes usually narrow, appendages 0.5–1.5 mm broad, margins entire or erose; stamens shorter than petals; styles 3, shorter than petals. |
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. |
Capsules | ovoid, constricted at mouth, equaling or slightly longer than calyx tube, opening by 6 recurved teeth; carpophore 1–3 mm. |
broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
Seeds | dark brown to black, with gray bloom, broadly reniform, 0.8–1 mm, strongly tuberculate. |
dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Silene noctiflora |
Silene dioica |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Arable land, disturbed ground | Woodlands, hedges, gardens, riverbanks, open waste places |
Elevation | 0-3000 m (0-9800 ft) | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AL; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; UT; 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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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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Discussion | Silene noctiflora is sometimes confused with S. latifolia, but they are very different species. Silene noctiflora differs in having perfect flowers with long, very narrow calyx teeth and an elliptic, fruiting calyx that is narrow at the mouth and constricted around the capsule base. It also has three styles and a capsule that dehisces by six teeth; S. latifolia has (four or) five styles and a capsule that dehisces by five bifid teeth. The flowers of S. noctiflora, as its name indicates, are nocturnal and moth-pollinated. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 194. | FNA vol. 5, p. 181. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Melandrium noctiflorum | Lychnis dioica, Lychnis rubra, Melandrium dioicum, Melandrium dioicum subsp. rubrum, Melandrium rubrum |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 419. (1753) | (Linnaeus) Clairville: Man. Herbor. Suisse, 146. (1811) |
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