Silene verecunda |
Silene rotundifolia |
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Dolores campion, San Francisco campion |
round-leaf catchfly |
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Habit | Plants perennial; taproot stout; caudex branched, woody. | Plants perennial; taproot stout, fleshy; caudex branched. |
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. |
several, straggling to erect, freely branched, 2–7 cm, pilose and glandular, sparsely so 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. |
basal leaves withered at time of flowering, distal sessile, proximal petiolate, largest on mid to distal stem; blade subrotund to broadly ovate-lanceolate, 3–10 cm × 20–70 mm, base cuneate into petiole, apex short-acuminate, sparsely short-pilose. |
Inflorescences | cymose with elongate ascending branches, open, flowers (1–)3 to many, bracteate, bracteolate; bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, 3–20 mm, apex acuminate. |
cymose, open, few-flowered, leafy, bracteate; bracts resembling distal leaves. |
Pedicels | 1/4–3 times longer than calyx, scabrous-puberulous to pubescent and glandular, ± viscid. |
1–3(–4) cm, viscid, with long septate-glandular hairs. |
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 indistinctly veined, tubular, broadened distally, constricted towards base around carpophore, ± umbilicate, 20–25 × 5–8 mm, herbaceous, glandular-pilose, lobes triangular, 3–4 mm, margins narrow, membranous, ciliate; corolla scarlet, clawed, claw equaling calyx, limb deeply 2-lobed, 10–15 mm, lobes lanceolate, sometimes with 2 smaller lateral teeth, ciliate, appendages saccate, 1–1.5 mm, with clear area abaxially; stamens shortly exserted; styles 3, shortly exserted. |
Capsules | ovoid-ellipsoid, slightly longer than calyx, opening by 6 (or 8) recurved teeth; carpophore 2–5 mm. |
narrowly ellipsoid, not distending calyx, included within it, opening by 6 teeth; carpophore 6–8 mm. |
Seeds | dark reddish brown to black, reniform, ca. 1.5 mm, papillate, with larger papillae around margins. |
gray, broadly reniform, plump, ca. 1 mm, shallowly papillate. |
2n | = 48. |
= 48. |
Silene verecunda |
Silene rotundifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering late spring–summer. |
Habitat | Meadows, chaparral, sagebush, open woodlands, dry pine forests, alpine ridges, dry canyons | Woodlands, partially shaded cliffs and bluffs |
Elevation | 0-3400 m (0-11200 ft) | 200-600 m (700-2000 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; OR; UT; Mexico
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AL; GA; KY; OH; TN; WV
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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 rotundifolia is clearly related to S. laciniata but is a well-marked species of the deciduous forest region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 211. | FNA vol. 5, p. 201. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Caryophylloideae > Silene |
Sibling taxa | ||
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 | Melandrium rotundifolium |
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 344. (1875) | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 288. (1818) |
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