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barestem campion, naked campion, sticky catchfly, western fringe catchfly

cone campion, conoid catchfly, large sand catchfly, weed silene

Habit Plants perennial; taproot thick; caudex erect, branched, thick and woody, producing tufts of leaves. Plants annual; taproot slender.
Stems

erect, branched distally, with 2–4 pairs of reduced leaves, 15–50 cm; flowering shoots usually subscapose, coarsely pubescent with hairs colorless, septate, and long, viscid-glandular, especially distally.

erect, simple or with ascending branches, (20–)40–100 cm, coarsely puberulent, stipitate-glandular, viscid distally.

Leaves

mostly basal;

basal long-petiolate, blade oblanceolate to elliptic, 6–15 cm × 10–30 mm, narrowed to base, not fleshy;

cauline few, sessile, reduced distally, blade lanceolate, 0.8–4 cm × 3–8 mm, not fleshy.

mid and proximal stem pairs connate, blade 1–several-veined, oblanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, (3–)5–12 cm × (3–)8–15 mm, apex acute, veins parallel;

basal leaf blades oblanceolate and ± obtuse, sparsely to moderately puberulent on both surfaces, rarely subglabrous.

Inflorescences

thyrsate, subscapose, rarely simple, (3–)5–12(rarely more)-flowered, open, bracteate, bracteolate, densely pubescent, glandular, viscid; alternate branches often suppressed or developing unevenly;

proximal nodes often with single flower;

bracts and bracteoles resembling stem leaves but much reduced.

several–many-flowered, open, bracteate;

bracts resembling leaves but smaller.

Pedicels

1/4–2 times length of calyx.

ascending, straight, equaling or longer than calyx, densely stipitate-glandular, viscid.

Flowers

calyx prominently 10-veined, veins parallel, those of lobes broadened distally, tubular in flower, 10–13 × 2.5–4 mm, campanulate-ovate in fruit, broadest near middle and contracted towards mouth, not contracted proximally, 12–18 × 5–8 mm, with pale commissures, lobes 5, erect, narrowly lanceolate, 4–6 mm, margins narrow, membranous proximally, apex blunt, with glandular hairs;

petals 11/2–2 times longer than calyx tube;

corolla pink, clawed, claw equaling calyx tube, limb obovate, deeply 2-lobed, 5–10 mm, appendages 2, linear, ca. 1.5 mm;

stamens exserted, shorter than petals;

styles 3–5, included in calyx, ± equaling calyx or corolla.

calyx prominently 25–30-veined, lobed to 1/3 its length but splitting further in fruit, umbilicate, narrowly conic in flower, conic-ovoid and inflated in fruit, 20–30 × to 15 mm, margins dentate, puberulent and stipitate-glandular, lobes 5, lanceolate, narrow, acuminate, veins parallel;

corolla deep pink, clawed, claw equaling or longer than calyx, limb slightly lobed or unlobed, broadly obovate, spatulate, 8–12 mm, appendages 2–4 mm, lobed or dentate;

stamens equaling claw;

stigmas 3, equaling claw.

Capsules

conic to ellipsoid, equaling calyx lobes, opening by 6–10 recurved teeth;

carpophore 1–2 mm.

flask-shaped, 15–20 mm, opening by 6 recurved, lanceolate teeth;

carpophore to 2 mm.

Seeds

dark brown, reniform, 1–1.5 mm, prominently papillate;

papillae larger around margins.

brown, reniform, 1.2–1.8 mm broad, tuberculate.

2n

= 48.

= 20, 24 (Europe, Asia).

Silene nuda

Silene conoidea

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering early summer.
Habitat Scrubby grasslands and openings in woodland and coniferous forests Dry waste places, roadsides, arable land
Elevation 1100-2300 m (3600-7500 ft) 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; MO; MT; OR; TX; WA; AB; BC; SK; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Silene nuda may be confused with the other scapose species, S. scaposa, but S. nuda has larger, more conspicuous petals that are one and one-half to two times as long as the calyx tube. It is found in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades. The Nevada populations tend to grow in drier situations and on saline flats.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Similar to Silene conica but larger in all its parts, S. conoidea is a rare adventive weed with showy flowers and inflated fruiting calyces.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 195. FNA vol. 5, p. 180.
Parent taxa Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene
Sibling taxa
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. aperta, S. armeria, S. bernardina, S. bridgesii, S. campanulata, S. caroliniana, S. chalcedonica, S. conica, S. coniflora, S. conoidea, S. coronaria, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. drummondii, S. flos-cuculi, S. gallica, S. grayi, S. hitchguirei, S. hookeri, S. invisa, S. involucrata, S. kingii, S. laciniata, S. latifolia, S. lemmonii, S. marmorensis, S. menziesii, S. nachlingerae, S. nivea, S. noctiflora, S. occidentalis, S. oregana, S. ostenfeldii, S. ovata, S. parishii, S. parryi, S. pendula, S. petersonii, S. plankii, S. polypetala, S. pseudatocion, S. rectiramea, S. regia, S. repens, S. rotundifolia, S. sargentii, S. scaposa, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. serpentinicola, S. sibirica, S. sorensenis, S. spaldingii, S. stellata, S. subciliata, S. suecica, S. suksdorfii, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, S. verecunda, S. virginica, S. viscaria, S. vulgaris, S. williamsii, S. wrightii
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. aperta, S. armeria, S. bernardina, S. bridgesii, S. campanulata, S. caroliniana, S. chalcedonica, S. conica, S. coniflora, S. coronaria, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. drummondii, S. flos-cuculi, S. gallica, S. grayi, S. hitchguirei, S. hookeri, S. invisa, S. involucrata, S. kingii, S. laciniata, S. latifolia, S. lemmonii, S. marmorensis, S. menziesii, S. nachlingerae, S. nivea, S. noctiflora, S. nuda, S. occidentalis, S. oregana, S. ostenfeldii, S. ovata, S. parishii, S. parryi, S. pendula, S. petersonii, S. plankii, S. polypetala, S. pseudatocion, S. rectiramea, S. regia, S. repens, S. rotundifolia, S. sargentii, S. scaposa, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. serpentinicola, S. sibirica, S. sorensenis, S. spaldingii, S. stellata, S. subciliata, S. suecica, S. suksdorfii, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, S. verecunda, S. virginica, S. viscaria, S. vulgaris, S. williamsii, S. wrightii
Synonyms Lychnis nuda, S. insectivora, S. nuda subsp. insectivora, S. pectinata, S. pectinata var. subnuda
Name authority (S. Watson) C. L. Hitchcock & Maguire: Revis. N. Amer. Silene, 45. (1947) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 418. (1753)
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