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Dolores campion, San Francisco campion

Lemmon's catchfly

Habit Plants perennial; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. Plants perennial; taproot stout; caudex much-branched, woody, producing short, decumbent, leafy sterile shoots and erect flowering shoots.
Stems

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.

15–45 cm, pubescent and glandular-viscid distally, sparsely pubescent to ± glabrous proximally.

Leaves

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.

mostly in dense basal tufts;

basal blades oblanceolate to elliptic, 1–3.5 cm × 3–10 mm, narrowed to base, apex acute, scabrous-puberulent to subglabrous;

cauline in 2–3 pairs, distal sessile, reduced, blade linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 1.5–4 cm × 2–6 mm.

Inflorescences

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

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

cymose, (1–)3–5(–7)-flowered, open, bracteate, bracteolate, pubescent and viscid with stipitate glands;

cyme open, slender-branched;

bracts and bracteoles narrowly lanceolate, 2–15 mm, herbaceous.

Pedicels

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

divaricate, often curved near apex and/or at base, slender, 1/2–2 times longer than calyx.

Flowers

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.

calyx prominently 10-veined, campanulate, 6–10 × 2–4 mm in flower, broadening in fruit and becoming obconic with ± constricted base, ± as broad as long, pubescent and glandular, veins parallel, with pale commissures, lobes triangular, 1–2 mm, margins broad, membranous, apex acute;

corolla yellowish white, sometimes tinged with pink, clawed, claw equaling or longer than calyx, limb deeply lobed, lobes 4, linear, 4–8 mm, appendages 2, narrow, ca. 1 mm;

stamens exserted, equaling petals;

styles 3, filamentous, much longer than petals and stamens, exceeding 2 times calyx.

Capsules

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

carpophore 2–5 mm.

obovoid, equaling calyx and often splitting it, opening by 6 recurved teeth;

carpophore 2–3 mm.

Seeds

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

rusty brown, often with gray bloom, broadly reniform, 1–1.8 mm, coarsely papillate.

2n

= 48.

= 48.

Silene verecunda

Silene lemmonii

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Meadows, chaparral, sagebush, open woodlands, dry pine forests, alpine ridges, dry canyons Woodlands and forests, often in moist situations
Elevation 0-3400 m (0-11200 ft) 200-2800 m (700-9200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; OR; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Silene lemmonii has typical moth-pollinated flowers. It is closely related to S. bridgesii and appears to intergrade with it. However, the small size of S. lemmonii and the presence of a compact growth of short, leafy sterile shoots usually distinguish it from S. bridgesii.

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 211. FNA vol. 5, p. 192.
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. suksdorfii, S. thurberi, S. uralensis, 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. 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. verecunda, 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 S. palmeri
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 344. (1875) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 342. (1875)
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