Silene noctiflora |
Silene spaldingii |
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night-flowering campion, night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene, silène noctiflore, sticky cockle |
Spalding's campion, Spalding's catchfly, Spalding's catchfly or campion, Spalding's silene |
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Habit | Plants annual, densely pubescent throughout, viscid-glandular, especially distally; taproot slender. | Plants perennial, viscid; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody, producing several to many shoots. |
Stems | erect, simple proximal to inflorescence or with few basal branches, branched distally, to 75 cm. |
erect, branched, leafy, 20–60 cm, villose-tomentose, viscid-glandular. |
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. |
2 per node, connate proximally, sessile, largest in mid stem; blade lanceolate, 3–7 cm × 5–15 mm, apex acute, glandular-tomentose throughout. |
Inflorescences | cymose, 3–15-flowered, bracteate; cyme open, flowers held on ascending branches; bracts leaflike, narrowly lanceolate, 1–5 cm, apex acuminate. |
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, straight, 1/3–3 times longer than calyx. |
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. |
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 | ovoid, constricted at mouth, equaling or slightly longer than calyx tube, opening by 6 recurved teeth; carpophore 1–3 mm. |
ellipsoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 6 teeth; carpophore 1.5–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown to black, with gray bloom, broadly reniform, 0.8–1 mm, strongly tuberculate. |
yellowish brown, winged, reniform, ca. 2 mm, rugose; wing broad, wrinkled. |
2n | = 24. |
= 48. |
Silene noctiflora |
Silene spaldingii |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Arable land, disturbed ground | Mixed prairie and ponderosa pine forests in swales and on dry hillsides |
Elevation | 0-3000 m (0-9800 ft) | 800-1100 m (2600-3600 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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ID; MT; OR; WA; BC
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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.) |
Of conservation concern. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 194. | FNA vol. 5, p. 207. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Melandrium noctiflorum | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 419. (1753) | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 344. (1875) |
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