Silene suksdorfii |
Silene scouleri |
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Cascade alpine campion, Cascade alpine catchfly, Cascade catchfly, Suksdorf's catchfly, Suksdorf's silene |
Scouler's campion, Scouler's catchfly, Scouler's siliene, simple campion |
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Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, with decumbent subterranean shoots; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. | Plants perennial; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody, crowns 1–several. | ||||||||
Stems | numerous, erect, simple, 3–15 cm, pubescent, viscid-glandular distally. |
erect, simple proximal to inflorescence, slender or stout, 10–80 cm, puberulent. |
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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; basal petiolate, blade oblanceolate, 6–25 cm × 4–30 mm, retrorsely puberulent on both surfaces; cauline in 1–12 pairs, usually sessile, blade well developed, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, oblanceolate, or rarely linear or linear-lanceolate. |
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Inflorescences | flowers terminal, solitary, or in single dichotomy, bracteate; bracts leaflike, 3–15 mm. |
cymose, pseudo-racemose, or rarely paniculate, erect or nodding, with 1–12 flowering nodes, 2–20-flowered, open or dense, flowers paired or in many-flowered whorls, bracteate, cymes often sessile; bracts 3–60 mm. |
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Pedicels | erect, ca. equaling calyx, viscid glandular-pubescent, hairs with purple septa. |
becoming deflexed at base of calyx, 1/4–2 times calyx, glandular-pubescent. |
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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. |
shortly pedicellate or sessile; calyx prominently 10-veined, campanulate or tubular in flower, clavate, turbinate, or fusiform in fruit, constricted or not at base around carpophore in fruit, 8–20 × 3–8 mm, veins parallel, purplish or green, with pale commissures; lobes lanceolate, 2–5 mm, apex obtuse with broad membranous margin and tip; corolla white, greenish white, or pink, sometimes tinged pink or purple, clawed, claw longer than calyx, limb deeply 2–4-lobed, often with smaller lateral teeth, 2.5–8 mm, appendages 1–3 mm; stamens ± equaling corolla claw; styles 3–4, ± equaling corolla claw. |
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Capsules | equaling calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) teeth; carpophore 2.5–3.5 mm. |
ovoid to ellipsoid, equaling or slightly longer than calyx, opening by 6 or 8 teeth; carpophore 1.5–6 mm. |
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Seeds | brown, broadly winged, reniform, 1–2 mm, rugose-tessellate. |
brown or grayish brown, reniform, 1–1.5 mm, margins papillate, rugose on sides. |
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2n | = 48. |
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Silene suksdorfii |
Silene scouleri |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||||||
Habitat | Alpine ridges, gravel slopes, talus | |||||||||
Elevation | 1600-3000 m (5200-9800 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA
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AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; Mexico
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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.) |
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora). Silene scouleri is a very complex species that appears to be in the process of diverging into at least three different entities. Subspecies scouleri is a plant of the Pacific coast and lowlands. It has tall, stiffly erect stems, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate leaves, and a viscid inflorescence with many-flowered whorls of almost sessile flowers ranging in color from greenish white to rich pink. At the other extreme is subsp. pringlei, a plant of the mountains in Mexico extending northwards into Arizona and New Mexico. It has slender, somewhat nodding flowering stems with very narrow leaves. The flowers are usually paired at each node and secund on slender pedicels about equaling the calyx in length. The petals are off-white, sometimes tinged with dusky purple. Between the two extremes is subsp. hallii, a short, stocky plant of the Rocky Mountains and foothills with a few-flowered inflorescence. It has a larger, campanulate calyx, and some of the flowers usually become deflexed. Differentiation among these three forms is incomplete and plants indeterminate to subspecies are frequently encountered in areas away from the main distribution centers of the three subspecies. In northern Oregon and Idaho there appear to be populations connecting S. scouleri with S. oregana. They have some of the characteristics of S. oregana but not its laciniate petals. They may represent a more luxuriant form growing in taller vegetation, but their status needs further study. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 209. | FNA vol. 5, p. 204. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | ||||||||
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Name authority | B. L. Robinson: Bot. Gaz. 16: 44, plate 6, figs. 9–11. (1891) | Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 88. (1830) | ||||||||
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