Silene petersonii
Silene bernardina
Peterson's campion or catchfly, plateau catchfly
mountain catchfly, Palmer's campion, Palmer's catchfly
simple, 5–15 cm, pubescent and viscid, with stipitate glands.
not much- branched, slender, (15–)30–60 cm, sparsely pubescent proximally, viscid-glandular distally.
basal with blade 1-veined, oblanceolate, broadly spatulate, 1–4 cm × 2–8 mm, apex obtuse to acute, glandular-puberulent throughout, rarely subglabrous adaxially;
cauline in 3–6 pairs, sessile, reduced distally, blade lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or oblanceolate, 2–4 cm × 2–8 mm, apex ± acute, glandular-puberulent throughout.
mostly basal;
blade linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 2–8 cm × 2–6(–15) mm (including petiole), base tapered into slender petiole, apex acute to obtuse, subglabrous to glandular-pubescent on both surfaces;
cauline leaves to 4 pairs below inflorescence, narrower than basal leaves, blade usually linear but rarely elliptic-lanceolate.
usually with solitary terminal flower, sometimes cymose, to 8-flowered, open.
erect, with several short, ascending branches, few-flowered, open, bracteate, shortly pubescent and viscid-glandular;
bracts narrowly lanceolate, 3–10 mm, rigid.
erect or angled near tip with flowers slightly nodding, 1–3 times longer than calyx, glandular-puberulent, often densely so.
calyx prominently 10-veined, campanulate, not contracted proximally around carpophore, 15–20 × 4–8 mm, papery, margins dentate, veins parallel, usually purple tinged, with pale commissures;
lobes ovate, 3–5 mm, glandular-puberulent, midrib triangular, margins purple tinged, broad, membranous, apex obtuse;
corolla bright pink, clawed, claw equaling calyx, broad and ligulate but abruptly contracted into limb, limb broadly cuneate, shallowly to deeply 2–4-lobed, 5–15 mm, lobes broad or narrow, appendages absent or to 2 mm, margins erose;
stamens slightly longer than corolla claw;
stigmas 3(–5), slightly longer than corolla claw.
calyx prominently 10-veined, broadly tubular, umbilicate, moderately or not clavate, narrowed around carpophore, lobed, 12–15 × 4–6 mm, thin and papery, with short glandular-viscid pubescence, veins parallel, usually red pigmented, with pale commissures;
lobes lanceolate, 2–4 mm, apex acute;
petals white, pink, or dingy red, 11/2–2 times calyx, claw equaling calyx, ciliate at base, limb obtriangular, 4–6 mm, deeply divided into 4 linear lobes, appendages 2, conspicuous, laciniate, 2–3 mm, apex rounded;
stamens slightly exserted;
filaments ciliate at base;
styles 3(–4), equaling or longer than stamens.
equaling calyx, opening by 6 (or 8 or 10) lanceolate teeth;
carpophore 1–2.5 mm.
1-locular, narrowly ovoid, exceeding calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) ascending teeth;
carpophore 3–6 mm.
brown, broadly reniform, flattened, 2–2.5 mm, rugose, more coarsely so on margins.
brown, reniform, 1.5–2 mm broad, shallowly tuberculate on both surfaces, papillate around margins.
= 96.
= 48.
Silene petersonii
Silene bernardina
Of conservation concern.
This beautiful alpine species is variable with respect to density of pubescence, flower size, and petal structure. As this variation occurs both within and among populations, little useful purpose is served by giving names to it. The Nevada population, which is the basis for the name Silene clokeyi, is interfertile (A. R. Kruckeberg 1961) with populations in Utah (the basis for the name S. petersonii). Accordingly, a single species is recognized here without infraspecific taxa.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Silene bernardina is the earliest valid name for this species. Watson had previously (1875) named it S. montana, and that name was taken up by C. L. Hitchcock and B. Maguire (1947), who cited S. bernardina as a subspecies of S. montana. Unfortunately, the epithet montana is pre-occupied in Silene by S. montana Arrondeau (1863), an unrelated European species. The situation was further complicated by Watson in 1877, when he used the name Lychnis montana for another unrelated species now transferred to Silene and called S. hitchguirei.
Silene bernardina varies in leaf width, pubescence, and flower color. The broader-leaved and more sparsely pubescent forms have been referred to subsp. bernardina, and the more-common, narrower-leaved, more-densely pubescent, and viscid forms have been referred to subsp. maguirei.
Some forms of Silene bernardina can be difficult to distinguish from S. verecunda, S. sargentii, and S. oregana. Silene verecunda differs in its smaller, clavate calyx and in its petals being only shortly two-lobed. Silene sargentii is a small, densely cespitose, high-alpine species with very narrow, linear leaves (1–2 mm wide), shortly two-lobed petals, and seeds with much larger papillae around the margins. In S. oregana the petals are larger (two times the calyx) and deeply divided into many very narrow segments; the claw and the filaments are glabrous; the leaves, particularly the basal ones, are broader; and the inflorescences are narrower, with the more numerous flowers arranged on short, ascending branches; also, the calyx lobes are ovate and obtuse instead of lanceolate and acute. The Idaho material tends to be intermediate with S. oregana but has open, dichotomously branched inflorescences, and the petals are nearer to those of S. bernardina. These plants from Valley County in the Payette National Forest need further study, preferably in the field. They may represent a distinct taxon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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