Silene suksdorfii |
Silene seelyi |
|
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Cascade alpine campion, Cascade alpine catchfly, Cascade catchfly, Suksdorf's catchfly, Suksdorf's silene |
Seely's catchfly, Seely's catchfly or silene, Seely's silene |
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Habit | Plants perennial, cespitose, with decumbent subterranean shoots; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. | Plants perennial; taproot slender; caudex with much-branched crown, finely pubescent throughout with mainly glandular hairs. |
Stems | numerous, erect, simple, 3–15 cm, pubescent, viscid-glandular distally. |
numerous, decumbent to ascending, branched, tufted, leafy, slender, 5–30 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, sessile or nearly so, blade reticulate-veined, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, thin, 0.8–2 cm × 3–8 mm, broadest proximally, base rounded, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | flowers terminal, solitary, or in single dichotomy, bracteate; bracts leaflike, 3–15 mm. |
cymose, open, compound, leafy, single flowers borne terminally and in axils of distal leaves; bracteoles, when present, 2. |
Pedicels | erect, ca. equaling calyx, viscid glandular-pubescent, hairs with purple septa. |
straight, slender, 1/2–3 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. |
calyx green, obscurely 10-veined, narrowly campanulate, in fruit 6–9 × 3–4 mm, herbaceous, pubescent, veins without conspicuous pale commissures; lobes triangular, 2–3 mm; corolla dark red, sometimes white, clawed, claw slightly longer than calyx, limb deeply 2-lobed, 2–3 mm, appendages 2, very small; stamens exserted; styles 3, exserted. |
Capsules | equaling calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) teeth; carpophore 2.5–3.5 mm. |
ellipsoid, included in calyx, opening by 6 teeth; carpophore ca. 1.5 mm. |
Seeds | brown, broadly winged, reniform, 1–2 mm, rugose-tessellate. |
brown, not winged, broadly reniform, flattened, ca. 0.8 mm, reticulate. |
2n | = 48. |
= 24. |
Silene suksdorfii |
Silene seelyi |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Alpine ridges, gravel slopes, talus | Crevices and ledges on granite and basalt cliffs |
Elevation | 1600-3000 m (5200-9800 ft) | 800-1800 m (2600-5900 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA
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WA
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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.) |
Of conservation concern. Silene seelyi is confined to the Wenatchee Mountains. It closely related to S. menziesii, but is distinguished by its usually dark red flowers and broadly lanceolate leaves. Silene seelyi is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 209. | FNA vol. 5, p. 205. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Anotites seelyi | |
Name authority | B. L. Robinson: Bot. Gaz. 16: 44, plate 6, figs. 9–11. (1891) | C. V. Morton & J. W. Thompson: Torreya 33: 70. (1933) |
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