Silene suksdorfii
Silene
Cascade alpine campion, Cascade alpine catchfly, Cascade catchfly, Suksdorf's catchfly, Suksdorf's silene
campion, catchfly, silene, wild pink
slender or often stout, deep, branched caudex often present, some species stoloniferous or rhizomatous.
numerous, erect, simple, 3–15 cm, pubescent, viscid-glandular distally.
simple or branched, terete or sometimes angular.
mostly basal, densely tufted;
basal numerous, pseudopetiolate, blade narrowly oblanceolate, tapering into base, 0.5–3 cm × 1.5–4 mm, ± fleshy, apex acute, puberulent;
cauline in 1–3 pairs, ± sessile, reduced, blade narrowly oblanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 0.7–2 cm × 1–3 mm, apex acute, puberulent.
opposite or occasionally whorled, connate proximally, petiolate (basal leaves) or sessile (most cauline leaves);
blade 1–5-veined, linear to obovate or spatulate, herbaceous, apex acute to obtuse.
flowers terminal, solitary, or in single dichotomy, bracteate;
bracts leaflike, 3–15 mm.
terminal or sometimes axillary, simple or branched, sometimes condensed cymes, frequently flowers few or solitary, frequently glandular-pubescent and viscid;
bracts paired, herbaceous or scarious, or absent;
involucel bracteoles absent.
erect, ca. equaling calyx, viscid glandular-pubescent, hairs with purple septa.
erect, rarely flowers sessile or subsessile.
calyx prominently 10-veined, campanulate, not contracted proximally around carpophore, 10–15 × 5–7 mm, papery, veins parallel, purplish, with pale commissures, with purple-septate glandular hairs (rarely septa not purple), lobes ovate, ca. 2 mm, margins broad, membranous, apex obtuse;
corolla off-white or tinged with dusky purple, clawed, claw equaling calyx, broadened distally, limb 2-lobed, 3–5 mm, appendages ca. 1 mm;
stamens equaling calyx;
styles 3(–4), equaling calyx.
bisexual, sometimes unisexual (rarely so on separate plants);
sepals connate proximally into tube, (4–)10–28(–40) mm;
tube green, whitish, and/or purplish, 10–30-veined, cylindric to campanulate, urceolate, or clavate, terete, frequently inflated, membranous or more rarely herbaceous, commissures between sepals 1-veined, herbaceous;
lobes green or purplish, 1–5-veined, broadly triangular to lance-oblong or linear, usually shorter than tube, margins whitish, scarious, apex acute to obtuse;
petals 5, white, pink, scarlet, dusky purple, or off-white tinged with purple, clawed, claw usually conspicuous, sometimes small, rarely absent, auricles 2, coronal appendages 2, variously shaped or dissected;
limb usually exserted and conspicuous, oblanceolate to obovate, apex 2-lobed, sometimes dissected into 1–4 linear lobes or irregular teeth, or fimbriate, rarely entire;
nectaries at filament bases;
stamens 10, rarely fewer or absent, frequently dimorphic with longer opposite petals, arising with petals from carpophore;
filaments distinct nearly to base;
staminodes absent (rarely to 10 in pistillate flowers, arising with petals from carpophore, filiform);
ovary 1- or 3–5-locular;
styles 3 or 5, occasionally 4 (absent in staminate flowers), filiform, 1.5–20 mm, glabrous proximally;
stigmas 3 or 5, occasionally 4, linear along adaxial surface of styles, papillate (30x).
equaling calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) teeth;
carpophore 2.5–3.5 mm.
ovoid to globose, opening along sutures into 3–5 valves, frequently splitting into 6–10 equal teeth;
carpophore usually present.
brown, broadly winged, reniform, 1–2 mm, rugose-tessellate.
ca. (5–)15–100(–500+), reddish to gray or black, reniform to globose, usually tuberculate or papillate, papillae around margins sometimes larger and inflated, marginal wing sometimes present, appendage absent;
embryo peripheral, curved.
= (10) 12.
= 48.
Silene suksdorfii
Silene
Silene suksdorfii appears to be closely related to S. parryi but differs in its broadly winged seeds, smaller size, cespitose habit, and the prominent purple-septate hairs of the calyx, although the latter occasionally are present in S. parryi. It is very similar to, and in Idaho appears to intergrade with, another alpine species, S. sargentii, which has linear leaves and lacks the purple septa in the hairs and the broad wing on the seeds. It is similar also to S. hitchguirei; see discussion under that species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species ca. 700 (70 in the flora).
Silene includes several important weeds and some very beautiful horticultural plants. In addition to the species described in this account, several others have occurred in the flora area as chance introductions or garden escapes, but they have not become established and most have not been seen recently. They include S. coeli-rosa (Linnaeus) Godron, S. cretica Linnaeus, S. (Lychnis) fulgens (Fischer) E. H. L. Krause, S. italica Persoon, and S. nutans Linnaeus.
In this account, Lychnis, Melandrium, and Viscaria have been included in Silene, their previous recognition as distinct genera having resulted in a great deal of confusion in both nomenclature and taxonomy. I have not presented an infrageneric classification of Silene because existing systems either do not include those other genera (e.g., P. K. Chowdhuri 1957) or do not deal with most of our native North American taxa [e.g., W. Greuter (1995) and the molecular studies by Oxelman and coworkers (e.g., B. Oxelman et al. 1997, 2000]. The recent molecular study by J. G. Burleigh and T. P. Holtsford (2003) provides little support for existing morphologically based sectional classifications within Silene insofar as they relate to endemic North American taxa. However, it does indicate the distinctness of our arctic alpine species (S. involucrata—as S. furcata, and S. acaulis) that are circumpolar in their distribution.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stigmas 5 (rarely 4 in individual flowers); capsule with 5-10 teeth (rarely 4 or 8) | → 2 |
1. Stigmas 3 (rarely 4 or 5 in individual flowers, usually 4 in S. scaposa); capsules with 3 or 6 teeth (rarely 4, 5, 8, or 10) | → 16 |
2. Limbs of petals shorter than calyx, not differentiated from claw, ascending to spreading but rarely in horizontal plane; petals off-white, dingy pink, dusky purple, or purple tinged | → 3 |
2. Limbs of petals clearly differentiated from claw, spreading horizontally, equaling or longer than calyx (shorter in S. chalcedonica, S. flos-cuculi, and S. involucrata); petals showy, scarlet, bright purple or pink, or white | → 9 |
3. Seeds winged | → 4 |
3. Seeds not winged | → 6 |
4. Calyces inflated in flower or fruit, thin and papery; petals dusky purple-red; seeds 1.5-2.5 mm, with broad wing; flowers nodding (erect in subsp. porsildii but seeds 2-2.5 mm) | S. uralensis |
4. Calyces neither inflated nor very thin; petals white or pink; seeds 0.5-1.5 mm, wing often narrow; flowers erect | → 5 |
5. Seeds (0.5-)0.8-1(-1.3) mm, wing to ca. 4 diam. of seed; calyces elliptic, 7-10(-12) mm; stem 2-10(-12) cm; flowers 1(-3) | S. hitchguirei |
5. Seeds 1-1.5 mm, wing to 2 diam. of seed; calyces often campanulate or ovate, 8-20 mm; stems 10-45 cm; often with 1-3 flowers per peduncle | S. involucrata |
6. Fruiting calyces 2-3 times longer than broad, broadly tubular to narrowly ellipsoid | S. drummondii |
6. Fruiting calyces to 2 times as long as broad, campanulate, ovate, or elliptic | → 7 |
7. Fruiting calyces 10-12 mm, not or only slightly contracted at mouth | S. ostenfeldii |
7. Fruiting calyces 13-17 mm, contracted at mouth to 2-2/ 3 diam | → 8 |
8. Inflorescences 1(-3)-flowered; pedicels 2-3 times calyx, length of pubescence less than 1/ 2 pedicel diam.; veins of calyx prominent | S. kingii |
8. Inflorescences (1-)3-flowered; flowers sessile or pedicellate; pedicels usually much shorter than calyx, longest hairs ca. equaling pedicel or peduncle diam.; veins of calyx partially obscured by dense pubescence | S. sorensenis |
9. Inflorescences dense (interrupted in S. viscaria) cymes of (3-)5-50 flowers; flowers sessile or pedicels shorter than calyx | → 10 |
9. Inflorescences open cymes, 1-3 to many-flowered; most pedicels longer than calyx | → 12 |
10. Petals scarlet (rarely white or pink); coarse hispid herbs 50-100 cm; leaf blades broadly ovate or elliptic to lanceolate | S. chalcedonica |
10. Petals bright pink or purple (rarely white); glabrous or sparsely pubescent herbs 5-90 cm; leaf blades narrowly lanceolate | → 11 |
11. Flowers 14-22 mm diam.; limb of corolla obovate, ± entire; carpophore 3-5 mm; nodes of stem viscid | S. viscaria |
11. Flowers 5-10 mm diam.; limb of corolla 2-lobed to middle; carpophore ca. 1 mm; nodes of stem not viscid | S. suecica |
12. Open flowers 8-16 mm diam | S. involucrata |
12. Open flowers 20-35 mm diam | → 13 |
13. Petal limbs deeply divided with 4 linear segments | S. flos-cuculi |
13. Petal limbs unlobed, emarginate or shallowly 2-lobed | → 14 |
14. Leaf blades with dense, silky, grayish white tomentum; flowers bisexual | S. coronaria |
14. Pubescence hirsute or sparingly to densely pubescent; flowers unisexual | → 15 |
15. Petals white; capsule teeth slightly reflexed or spreading | S. latifolia |
15. Petals bright pink; capsule teeth revolute | S. dioica |
16. Petals scarlet | → 17 |
16. Petals white, cream, pink, or dark red, off-white tinged with purple | → 23 |
17. Limbs of petals unlobed or emarginate, shallowly dentate, or crenate, rarely shallowly 2-lobed | → 18 |
17. Limbs of petals deeply lobed or laciniate | → 20 |
18. Stems and leaf blades glabrous | S. subciliata |
18. Stems and leaf blades pubescent | → 19 |
19. Stems erect, 50-160 cm; inflorescences many-flowered; leaf blades ovate to lanceolate, apex acute, not acuminate | S. regia |
19. Stems ascending, 10-20 cm; inflorescences with flowers usually solitary, terminal; leaf blades linear-lanceolate, apex sharply acuminate | S. plankii |
20. Petals deeply 4-6-lobed, small lateral teeth may be present | S. laciniata |
20. Petals deeply 2-lobed, lobes often with lateral teeth | → 21 |
21. Leaf blades subrotund to broadly lanceolate; petal lobes ciliate | S. rotundifolia |
21. Leaf blades lanceolate, oblanceolate, or obovate to narrowly elliptic; petal lobes glabrous or nearly so (claw may be ciliate) | → 22 |
22. Stems 4-10(-15) cm; inflorescences 1-3(-4)-flowered; leaves longest in mid stem, basal tufts absent; w United States | S. serpentinicola |
22. Stems 20-80 cm; inflorescences (3-)7-11(-20)-flowered; leaves longest at base of stem, in basal tufts; e United States | S. virginica |
23. Calyces with 20-30 parallel veins | → 24 |
23. Calyces with 10 or fewer veins or venation obscure | → 27 |
24. Calyces glabrous, veins obscure | S. csereii |
24. Calyces pubescent and usually glandular, veins prominent | → 25 |
25. Mature calyces 20-30 mm; seeds 1.3-1.8 mm broad | S. conoidea |
25. Calyces 8-15 mm; seeds 0.6-1 mm broad | → 26 |
26. Petals ± equaling calyx, limb 1-3 mm, inconspicuous; corollas cream to dull orange abaxially, often purple tinged adaxially; calyx lobes 2-3 mm | S. coniflora |
26. Petals much exceeding calyx, conspicuous, limb 3-6 mm; corollas pink (rarely white or dark red); calyx lobes ca. 5 mm | S. conica |
27. Inflorescences congested, capitate, or flowers clustered; flowers sessile or pedicels shorter than calyx | → 28 |
27. Inflorescences open; flowers pedicellate, if pedicels short, then flowers in several separate whorls, or solitary | → 30 |
28. Plants glabrous | S. armeria |
28. Plants pubescent | → 29 |
29. Calyx veins purple tinged or entirely purple; corollas rose pink, limb 2-lobed | S. repens |
29. Calyx veins green; corollas greenish yellow to white, limb deeply lacin- iate into 6 or more linear lobes | S. parishii |
30. Leaves whorled at each node, 4 to many | → 31 |
30. Leaves opposite, 2 at each node (smaller axillary shoots sometimes present), or all or mostly proximal | → 32 |
31. Leaf blades lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 4 per node | S. stellata |
31. Leaf blades linear to very narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, more than 4 pernode | S. sibirica |
32. Calyces herbaceous, conspicuous pale commissures between veins absent, veins obscure | → 33 |
32. Calyces with pale commissures between prominent parallel veins | → 43 |
33. Limbs of petals with several narrow, linear lobes | S. campanulata |
33. Limbs of petals unlobed, sometimes emarginate, or 2-lobed | → 34 |
34. Calyces glabrous | → 35 |
34. Calyces pubescent | → 38 |
35. Petals bright pink, rarely white | S. acaulis |
35. Petals white | → 36 |
36. Fruiting calyces ovoid, contracted at mouth to ca. 2 its diam.; stamens ca. 2 times calyx; filaments purple | S. csereii |
36. Fruiting calyces clavate or campanulate, not contracted at mouth; stamens ca. 1-11/ 3 times calyx; filaments usually white | → 37 |
37. Fruiting calyces broadly clavate, strongly contracted at base around carpophore; carpophores5-6 mm; inflorescences leafy | S. nivea |
37. Fruiting calyces campanulate, not contracted at base; carpophores 2-3 mm; inflorescences withleaves reduced, resembling bracts | S. vulgaris |
38. Seeds winged | S. spaldingii |
38. Seeds not winged | → 39 |
39. Mature calyces contracted towards base around carpophore; carpophores 4-7 mm | → 40 |
39. Mature calyces not contracted at base; carpophores less than 2 mm | → 41 |
40. Corollas white; calyces green | S. nivea |
40. Corollas pink (rarely white); calyces purple, purpleveined, or purple tinged | S. repens |
41. Leaf blades oblanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, rarely obovate or elliptic, broadest distally or atmiddle | S. menziesii |
41. Leaf blades narrowly lanceolate to elliptic- or ovate-lanceolate, broadest proximally | → 42 |
42. Petals dark red (rarely white); calyces 6-9 ×3-4 mm | S. seelyi |
42. Petals white; calyces 9-11 × 4-6 mm | S. williamsii |
43. Plants annual or biennial, often with slender taproot | → 44 |
43. Plants perennial, rhizomatous or with stout, often woody taproot and branched (or sometimes in S. oregana), woody caudex | → 49 |
44. Mature calyces clavate, urceolate, or fusiform, contracted proximally around carpophore | → 45 |
44. Mature calyces campanulate, elliptic, or ovoid, not contracted at base around carpophore | → 47 |
45. Petals white, often pink tinged | S. noctiflora |
45. Petals bright pink | → 46 |
46. Petals unlobed | S. pseudatocion |
46. Petals 2-lobed | S. pendula |
47. Stems subglabrous to puberulent, often glutinous on distal internodes | S. antirrhina |
47. Stems coarsely hispid | → 48 |
48. Mature calyces (7-)10-15 mm; seeds grayish brown to black, ca. 1 mm diam.; stems (20-)50-100 cm | S. dichotoma |
48. Mature calyces 7-10 mm; seeds dark reddish brown, ca. 0.5 mm diam.; stems 15-45 cm | S. gallica |
49. Calyx lobes equaling or exceeding tube | S. aperta |
49. Calyx lobes shorter than tube. [50. Shifted to left margin.—Ed.] | → 50 |
50. Mature calyces clavate, funnelform, turbinate, urceolate, tubular, or fusiform, narrowed proximally around carpophore | → 51 |
50. Mature calyces campanulate, elliptic, or ovate, not contracted proximally around carpophore, or if so, broadly turbinate or obconic, at least 1/ 2 as broad as long | → 61 |
51. Corolla limbs unlobed or nearly so | S. caroliniana |
51. Corolla limbs lobed or laciniate | → 52 |
52. Calyx lobes 4-8 mm, lanceolate or narrowly triangular | → 53 |
52. Calyx lobes 2-4 mm, lanceolate to ovate or triangular-acute, or 2-5 mm with broad, obtuse, membranous margins | → 56 |
53. Corollas coral pink, pink, or white, limb 7-25 mm; calyces umbilicate or turbinate in fruit | → 54 |
53. Corollas pale greenish yellow or pale yellow to white, sometimes purple tinged, limb 5-8 mm; calyces clavate in fruit | → 55 |
54. Corolla limbs laciniate into many narrow segments; calyces thinly pilose,funnelform in flower, umbilicate in fruit | S. polypetala |
54. Corolla limbs 4-lobed, usually deeply so, rarely 2-lobed with 2 smaller lateral teeth; calyces canescent, eglandular or glandular, broadly tubular inflower, turbinate in fruit | S. hookeri |
55. Corolla limbs deeply laciniate into 6 or more linear lobes; calyces (20-)25-30 mm, densely puberulent and viscid-glandular, tubular in flower | S. parishii |
55. Corolla limbs cleft ca. to middle into (2-)4-8 lanceolate to oblong lobes; calyces 16-20 mm, densely and coarsely pubescent and viscid-glandular,tubular to narrowly obconic in flower | S. wrightii |
56. Leaf blades ovate-acuminate, sessile; mature calyces turbinate | S. ovata |
56. Leaf blades linear or spatulate to ovate-lanceolate or oblanceolate, at least proximal ones petiolate; mature calyces clavate to tubular or fusiform | → 57 |
57. Corolla limbs pink or rose red (rarely white), (7-)10-20 mm, with 4 (rarely 2 with 2 teeth) divergent, lanceolate lobes; mature calyces 15-38 mm | S. occidentalis |
57. Corolla limbs white, greenish, pink, or dingy red, 3-8 mm, with 2-6(-10) linear lobes; mature calyces 8-17(-20) mm | → 58 |
58. Corolla limbs 2-lobed (rarely with small lateral teeth) | → 59 |
58. Corolla limbs 4-6-lobed | → 60 |
59. Inflorescences open cymes with many elongate, ascending branchesand pedicels longer than calyx | S. verecunda |
59. Inflorescences pseudoracemose and nodding with flowers usually paired at nodes and pedicels ± equaling calyx, or erect with dense, many-flowered whorls and most flowers sessile or shortlypedicellate | S. scouleri |
60. Corolla appendages 2, laciniate, apex rounded, 2-3 mm; claw andfilaments ciliate; corolla lobes 4, linear | S. bernardina |
60. Corolla appendages 4-6, linear, apex acute, 1-1.5 mm; claw and filaments glabrous; corolla lobes 4-6, often forked, producing to 10 linear segments | S. oregana |
61. Styles exceeding 2 times calyx; stamens exserted from calyx | → 62 |
61. Styles and stamens ± equaling calyx and/or corolla | → 63 |
62. Leaves mostly in dense basal tufts | S. lemmonii |
62. Leaves mostly cauline | S. bridgesii |
63. Sepals and pedicels without glandular hairs | → 64 |
63. Glandular hairs present at least on pedicels and calyces. [65. Shifted to left margin.—Ed.] | → 65 |
64. Petals to 2 times calyx | S. douglasii |
64. Petals slightly longer than calyx | S. nachlingerae |
65. Leaves mostly basal, densely tufted, cauline leaves usually in 1-3 pairs and/or reduced | → 66 |
65. Basal leaves not densely tufted; cauline leaves in 3-12 pairs | → 72 |
66. Corollas slightly longer than sepals, limbs 1-2 mm, unlobed, or apex notched | S. invisa |
66. Corollas exceeding or sometimes equaling calyces; limbs 2-10 mm, 2(-4)-lobed | → 67 |
67. Plants small alpine species; stems 3-20(-30) cm; leaf blades fleshy, 0.5-5(-6) cm | → 68 |
67. Plants lowland and montane species; stems usually exceeding 30 cm; leaf blades not fleshy, 2-15 cm | → 70 |
68. Pubescence on calyces and pedicels with purple septa | S. suksdorfii |
68. Pubescence on calyces and pedicels with colorless septa | → 69 |
69. Seeds 2-3 mm, margins thickened and winglike; proximal leaf blades oblanceolate-spatulate, 2-7 mm wide | S. grayi |
69. Seeds ca. 1.5 mm, margins with large inflated papillae; proximal leaf blades linear-oblanceolate, 0.5-3 mm wide | S. sargentii |
70. Calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate with narrow membranous margins proximally | S. nuda |
70. Calyx lobes ovate to broadly triangular with broad membranous margins | → 71 |
71. Claws of corollas exceeding calyx, ciliate proximally; veins to calyx lobes conspicuously broadened distally and lance-shaped, commissural veins slender, not forked distally | S. scaposa |
71. Claws of corollas equaling calyx, glabrous; veins of calyx lobes not conspicuously broadened distally, commissural veins slender and forked distally, connate with those to lobes | S. parryi |
72. Cymes sessile (proximal ones may be pedunculate); pedicels usually shorter than calyxand becoming deflexed at base of calyx | S. scouleri |
72. Cymes pedunculate or flowers solitary; pedicels shorter than to exceeding calyx, ascending (may be partially deflexed in S. thurberi and S. petersonii) | → 73 |
73. Petals bright pink, limb 5-15 mm; plants rhizomatous from thick rootstock; stems5-15 cm | S. petersonii |
73. Petals white, pale pink, or yellowish, often tinged green or dusky purple, limb 3-8 mm; plants not rhizomatous; stems erect, usually exceeding 15 cm | → 74 |
74. Pubescence on calyces and pedicels short, deflexed, grayish white, eglandular(glandular hairs often present in var. rupinae) | S. douglasii |
74. Pubescence scabrid-puberulent or often viscid glandular-pubescent with septate hairs, glandular hairs present at least distally | → 75 |
75. Mature calyces ca. as broad as long; flowers nocturnal | S. marmorensis |
75. Mature calyces ca. 2 times as long as broad, flowers diurnal | → 76 |
76. Corolla limbs 5-7 mm, mature calyces 12-16 mm; stems softly viscid-puberulent distally | S. parryi |
76. Corolla limbs 2-4 mm, mature calyces 7-12 mm; stems scabridpuberulent | → 77 |
77. Calyx lobes 1-2 mm, ovate, as long as broad, corolla appendagesentire | S. rectiramea |
77. Calyx lobes 3-4 mm, narrowly lanceolate, much longer than broad, corolla appendages erose | S. thurberi |
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