Silene suksdorfii |
Silene noctiflora |
|
---|---|---|
Cascade alpine campion, Cascade alpine catchfly, Cascade catchfly, Suksdorf's catchfly, Suksdorf's silene |
night-flowering campion, night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene, silène noctiflore, sticky cockle |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, with decumbent subterranean shoots; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. | Plants annual, densely pubescent throughout, viscid-glandular, especially distally; taproot slender. |
Stems | numerous, erect, simple, 3–15 cm, pubescent, viscid-glandular distally. |
erect, simple proximal to inflorescence or with few basal branches, branched distally, to 75 cm. |
Leaves | 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. |
2 per node, gradually reduced distally; basal blades oblanceolate, 6–12(–14) cm × 20–45 mm; cauline blades ascending, conspicuously veined, broadly elliptic to lanceolate, 1–11 cm × 3–40 mm, apex acute, shortly acuminate, densely pubescent on both surfaces. |
Inflorescences | flowers terminal, solitary, or in single dichotomy, bracteate; bracts leaflike, 3–15 mm. |
cymose, 3–15-flowered, bracteate; cyme open, flowers held on ascending branches; bracts leaflike, narrowly lanceolate, 1–5 cm, apex acuminate. |
Pedicels | erect, ca. equaling calyx, viscid glandular-pubescent, hairs with purple septa. |
ascending, straight, 1/3–3 times longer than calyx. |
Flowers | 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. |
nocturnal, 20–25 mm diam.; calyx prominently 10-veined, ovate-elliptic, fusiform, narrowed to both ends and constricted around carpophore, 15–24(–40) × ca. 3 mm in flower, swelling to 10 mm diam. in fruit, thin and papery, margins dentate, with pale commissures; lobes erect, often recurved in fruit, linear-lanceolate, long, narrow, (3–)5–10(–15) mm, apex acuminate, short-pubescent, glandular, interspersed with long eglandular hairs, veins anastomosing; corolla white, often pink tinged, clawed, claw equaling calyx lobes, limb deeply 2-lobed, lobes usually narrow, appendages 0.5–1.5 mm broad, margins entire or erose; stamens shorter than petals; styles 3, shorter than petals. |
Capsules | equaling calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) teeth; carpophore 2.5–3.5 mm. |
ovoid, constricted at mouth, equaling or slightly longer than calyx tube, opening by 6 recurved teeth; carpophore 1–3 mm. |
Seeds | brown, broadly winged, reniform, 1–2 mm, rugose-tessellate. |
dark brown to black, with gray bloom, broadly reniform, 0.8–1 mm, strongly tuberculate. |
2n | = 48. |
= 24. |
Silene suksdorfii |
Silene noctiflora |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Alpine ridges, gravel slopes, talus | Arable land, disturbed ground |
Elevation | 1600-3000 m (5200-9800 ft) | 0-3000 m (0-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA
|
AK; AL; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Europe [Introduced in North America]
|
Discussion | 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.) |
Silene noctiflora is sometimes confused with S. latifolia, but they are very different species. Silene noctiflora differs in having perfect flowers with long, very narrow calyx teeth and an elliptic, fruiting calyx that is narrow at the mouth and constricted around the capsule base. It also has three styles and a capsule that dehisces by six teeth; S. latifolia has (four or) five styles and a capsule that dehisces by five bifid teeth. The flowers of S. noctiflora, as its name indicates, are nocturnal and moth-pollinated. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 209. | FNA vol. 5, p. 194. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Melandrium noctiflorum | |
Name authority | B. L. Robinson: Bot. Gaz. 16: 44, plate 6, figs. 9–11. (1891) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 419. (1753) |
Web links |
|
|