Silene ovata |
Silene dioica |
|
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Blue Ridge catchfly, ovate-leaf campion or catchfly, ovate-leaf catchfly |
red campion, red catchfly, silène dioïque |
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Habit | Plants perennial, rhizomatous; rhizome creeping. | Plants perennial; taproot slender. |
Stems | erect, usually simple, 30–150 cm, with short, dense, eglandular pubescence, sparsely so toward base. |
ascending, decumbent at base, branched, shortly rhizomatous, to 80 cm, softly pubescent, ± glandular, at least distally, rarely subglabrous. |
Leaves | sessile, 2 per node; blade prominently 3–5-veined, ovate-acuminate, round at base, (4–)6–10(–13) cm × (20–)30–50(–90) mm, appressed-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 | paniculate, narrow, many-flowered, open, bracteate, pedunculate, 10–50 × 3–5 cm, densely puberulent; bracts narrowly lanceolate, 3–15 mm, apex acuminate; peduncle ascending. |
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, recurved near apex, ca. equaling calyx. |
ascending, 0.2–3 cm, usually shorter than calyx. |
Flowers | nocturnal; calyx prominently 10-veined, tubular to narrowly campanulate and 6–9 × 3–4 mm in flower, turbinate and 10–12 × 4–5 mm in fruit, narrowed proximally around carpophore, veins parallel, green, broad, with pale commissures, puberulent, sometimes with few glands, lobes triangular-acute, 2–3 mm; corolla white, clawed, claw equaling calyx, broadened into limb, limb obtriangular, deeply lobed, 7–9 mm, lobes ca. 8, linear, appendages minute; stamens slightly longer than corolla; styles 3, ca. 2 times as long as corolla. |
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 | narrowly ovoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 3 (splitting into 6) ascending teeth; carpophore 2–2.5 mm. |
broadly ovoid to globose, equaling and often splitting calyx, opening by 5 (splitting into 10) revolute teeth; carpophore absent. |
Seeds | dark brown, reniform, 0.8–1.5 mm, shallowly tuberculate. |
dark brown to black, broadly reniform, plump, 1–1.6 mm, densely and evenly papillate. |
2n | = 48. |
= 24. |
Silene ovata |
Silene dioica |
|
Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Rich woods | Woodlands, hedges, gardens, riverbanks, open waste places |
Elevation | 1000-1900 m (3300-6200 ft) | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; GA; KY; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA
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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 | Of conservation concern. Silene ovata is a very distinctive species with large, ovate, acuminate, sessile, paired leaves, and very narrowly lobed white petals. The flowers open at night and are 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. | FNA vol. 5, p. 181. |
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 | |
Name authority | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 316. (1813) | (Linnaeus) Clairville: Man. Herbor. Suisse, 146. (1811) |
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