Silene ovata |
Silene scaposa |
|
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Blue Ridge catchfly, ovate-leaf campion or catchfly, ovate-leaf catchfly |
Blue Mountain catchfly, Robinson's catchfly, stem campion |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, rhizomatous; rhizome creeping. | Plants perennial, subscapose, cespitose; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. |
Stems | erect, usually simple, 30–150 cm, with short, dense, eglandular pubescence, sparsely so toward base. |
several, erect, simple, 15–50 cm, puberulent, viscid-glandular distally. |
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. |
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 | paniculate, narrow, many-flowered, open, bracteate, pedunculate, 10–50 × 3–5 cm, densely puberulent; bracts narrowly lanceolate, 3–15 mm, apex acuminate; peduncle ascending. |
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 | ascending, recurved near apex, ca. equaling calyx. |
erect, elongate, 0.5–4.5 cm, glandular-puberulent. |
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. |
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 | narrowly ovoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 3 (splitting into 6) ascending teeth; carpophore 2–2.5 mm. |
slightly longer than calyx, opening by 3–5 teeth; carpophore 1.5–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | dark brown, reniform, 0.8–1.5 mm, shallowly tuberculate. |
brown, reniform, 1.2–2 mm, margins with large, inflated papillae, rugose on sides. |
2n | = 48. |
= 48. |
Silene ovata |
Silene scaposa |
|
Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. | Flowering early summer. |
Habitat | Rich woods | Subalpine grassy, gravelly, or rocky slopes, ponderosa pine forests, juniper scrub, sagebrush |
Elevation | 1000-1900 m (3300-6200 ft) | 900-3000 m (3000-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; GA; KY; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA
|
CO; ID; NV; OR
|
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 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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5. | FNA vol. 5, p. 202. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. scaposa var. lobata | |
Name authority | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 316. (1813) | B. L. Robinson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 28: 145. (1893) |
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