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Cascade alpine campion, Cascade alpine catchfly, Cascade catchfly, Suksdorf's catchfly, Suksdorf's silene

Dolores campion, San Francisco campion

Habit Plants perennial, cespitose, with decumbent subterranean shoots; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. Plants perennial; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody.
Stems

numerous, erect, simple, 3–15 cm, pubescent, viscid-glandular distally.

usually several–many, rarely 1, erect, leafy, 10–55 cm, base often decumbent with marcescent leaf bases, scabrous-puberulent to pubescent, usually ± viscid-glandular distally, rarely densely so.

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 linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 3–10 cm × 2–13 mm (including petiole), apex acute, glabrous to scabrous-puberulent or softly pubescent, petiole often ciliate;

cauline sessile or petiolate, connate proximally, reduced distally, blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–10 cm × 2–8 mm.

Inflorescences

flowers terminal, solitary, or in single dichotomy, bracteate;

bracts leaflike, 3–15 mm.

cymose with elongate ascending branches, open, flowers (1–)3 to many, bracteate, bracteolate;

bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, 3–20 mm, apex acuminate.

Pedicels

erect, ca. equaling calyx, viscid glandular-pubescent, hairs with purple septa.

1/4–3 times longer than calyx, scabrous-puberulous to pubescent and glandular, ± viscid.

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 prominently 10-veined, tubular in flower, ± clavate and contracted around carpophore in fruit, 10–14 × 4–6 mm, margins dentate, veins parallel, green (rarely purplish), with pale commissures, lobes ascending, lanceolate, 2–3 mm, margins usually with obtuse, membranous border, apex spreading, shortly glandular-pubescent, usually viscid;

corolla off-white (greenish) to dusky pink, clawed, claw equaling calyx, limb obovate, 2-lobed, 3–7 mm, shorter than claw, rarely with small lateral teeth, appendages 2, usually lacerate, 1–2 mm;

stamens ca. equaling petals;

styles 3(–4), often much longer than petals.

Capsules

equaling calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) teeth;

carpophore 2.5–3.5 mm.

ovoid-ellipsoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) recurved teeth;

carpophore 2–5 mm.

Seeds

brown, broadly winged, reniform, 1–2 mm, rugose-tessellate.

dark reddish brown to black, reniform, ca. 1.5 mm, papillate, with larger papillae around margins.

2n

= 48.

= 48.

Silene suksdorfii

Silene verecunda

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Alpine ridges, gravel slopes, talus Meadows, chaparral, sagebush, open woodlands, dry pine forests, alpine ridges, dry canyons
Elevation 1600-3000 m (5200-9800 ft) 0-3400 m (0-11200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; OR; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 verecunda is an exceptionally variable species, very difficult to circumscribe and tending to intergrade with S. bernardina, S. oregana, and S. grayi. It differs from the first two of those species mainly in having two-lobed petals. Silene grayi is a much smaller cespitose alpine plant with very large seeds. Hitchcock and Maguire divided S. verecunda into subsp. verecunda, subsp. platyota, and subsp. andersonii. Of these, subsp. andersonii is the most distinct, with a scabrous-puberulent indumentum, very narrow, stiff leaves, and rigid stems that are decumbent at the base, with marcescent leaf bases. The claw of the petals also is often more uniformly ciliate. Subspecies verecunda has a very different appearance, its mature calyx being shorter, broader, and markedly clavate. It is a short, stocky, viscid-glandular plant of exposed coastal habitats and may simply be a local ecotype. Subspecies platyota encompasses the remainder of the variation in the complex. Most of this variation consists of plants with fewer flowering stems; softer pubescence; broader, flat leaves; and thinner, more papery calyces. All these forms of S. verecunda appear to intergrade freely and, based on current information, any separation would be arbitrary. The species is in need of an experimental study to determine the nature of variation and its taxonomic value.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 209. FNA vol. 5, p. 211.
Parent taxa Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene
Sibling taxa
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. aperta, S. armeria, S. bernardina, S. bridgesii, S. campanulata, S. caroliniana, S. chalcedonica, S. conica, S. coniflora, S. conoidea, S. coronaria, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. drummondii, S. flos-cuculi, S. gallica, S. grayi, S. hitchguirei, S. hookeri, S. invisa, S. involucrata, S. kingii, S. laciniata, S. latifolia, S. lemmonii, S. marmorensis, S. menziesii, S. nachlingerae, S. nivea, S. noctiflora, S. nuda, S. occidentalis, S. oregana, S. ostenfeldii, S. ovata, S. parishii, S. parryi, S. pendula, S. petersonii, S. plankii, S. polypetala, S. pseudatocion, S. rectiramea, S. regia, S. repens, S. rotundifolia, S. sargentii, S. scaposa, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. serpentinicola, S. sibirica, S. sorensenis, S. spaldingii, S. stellata, S. subciliata, S. suecica, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, S. verecunda, S. virginica, S. viscaria, S. vulgaris, S. williamsii, S. wrightii
S. acaulis, S. antirrhina, S. aperta, S. armeria, S. bernardina, S. bridgesii, S. campanulata, S. caroliniana, S. chalcedonica, S. conica, S. coniflora, S. conoidea, S. coronaria, S. csereii, S. dichotoma, S. dioica, S. douglasii, S. drummondii, S. flos-cuculi, S. gallica, S. grayi, S. hitchguirei, S. hookeri, S. invisa, S. involucrata, S. kingii, S. laciniata, S. latifolia, S. lemmonii, S. marmorensis, S. menziesii, S. nachlingerae, S. nivea, S. noctiflora, S. nuda, S. occidentalis, S. oregana, S. ostenfeldii, S. ovata, S. parishii, S. parryi, S. pendula, S. petersonii, S. plankii, S. polypetala, S. pseudatocion, S. rectiramea, S. regia, S. repens, S. rotundifolia, S. sargentii, S. scaposa, S. scouleri, S. seelyi, S. serpentinicola, S. sibirica, S. sorensenis, S. spaldingii, S. stellata, S. subciliata, S. suecica, S. suksdorfii, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, S. virginica, S. viscaria, S. vulgaris, S. williamsii, S. wrightii
Synonyms S. andersonii, S. behrii, S. luisana, S. occidentalis var. nancta, S. platyota, S. verecunda subsp. andersonii, S. verecunda var. eglandulosa, S. verecunda subsp. platyota, S. verecunda var. platyota
Name authority B. L. Robinson: Bot. Gaz. 16: 44, plate 6, figs. 9–11. (1891) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 344. (1875)
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