Silene chalcedonica | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
Genus: | Silene |
Species: | S. chalcedonica |
Binomial name | |
Silene chalcedonica (L.) E.H.L.Krause | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Silene chalcedonica (syn. Lychnis chalcedonica), the Maltese-cross [2] [3] [4] or scarlet lychnis, [3] [4] is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Eurasia. Other common names include flower of Bristol, Jerusalem cross [5] and nonesuch. [6]
It is a popular ornamental plant and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 35–100 centimetres (14–39 inches) tall with unbranched stems. The simple, broadly lanceolate leaves are produced in opposite pairs. Each leaf ranges between 2–12 cm (1–5 in) long and 1–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) across.
The bright red flowers are produced in clusters of 10-50 together. Each flower 1–3 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄4 in) in diameter with a deeply five-lobed corolla, each lobe being further split into two smaller lobes. This forms a general shape similar to that of the Maltese cross to which it owes one of its common names. The fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous seeds.
This plant was first formally named as Lychnis chalcedonica by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. [7] For purposes of taxonomic stability, the genus name Lychnis was formally rejected in 1994 and the name Silene was conserved. [8] [9] The name Silene chalcedonica was published by Ernst Hans Ludwig Krause in 1901. [1] [10]
The specific epithet chalcedonica refers to the ancient town of Chalcedon in what is now Turkey. [11]
Numerous common names are attached to this plant, including: [5] [6] [12]
The species is native to central and eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and northwestern China. It has naturalised in some parts of North America. [14] It can be found along roadsides and other disturbed areas, as well as open woodlands, in the northern United States and Canada. [14]
It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens. [15] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [16] [17] Numerous cultivars have been selected, varying in flower colour from bright red to orange-red, pink or white. It grows best in partial to full sun and in any good well-drained soil, if provided with a constant moisture supply. The flowering period is extended if faded flowers are removed. It is short-lived in poorly drained soil. Double-flowered cultivars are propagated by division.
It was voted the county flower of Bristol in 2002, following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife. [6] Its colour is reflected in the livery and crest of the city's university. [18]
Trillium chloropetalum, also known as giant trillium, giant wakerobin, or common trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is endemic to the western U.S. state of California, being especially frequent in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Trillium erectum, the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by analogy with the European robin, which has a red breast heralding spring. Likewise Trillium erectum is a spring ephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northern Georgia to Quebec and New Brunswick.
Silene is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many Silene species are widely distributed, particularly in the northern hemisphere.
Hepatica is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the buttercup family, native to central and northern Europe, Asia and eastern North America. Some botanists include Hepatica within a wider interpretation of Anemone.
Anemonoides nemorosa, the wood anemone, is an early-spring flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Other common names include windflower, European thimbleweed, and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves. It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 5–15 cm (2–6 in) tall.
Saponaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Asia and Europe, and are commonly known as soapworts. They are herbaceous perennials and annuals, some with woody bases. The flowers are abundant, five-petalled and usually in shades of pink or white. The genus is closely related to the genus Silene, being distinguished from these by having only two styles in the flower. It is also related to Gypsophila, but its calyx is cylindrical rather than bell-shaped.
Silene flos-cuculi, commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to North America.
Silene dioica, known as red campion and red catchfly, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe and introduced to the Americas.
Tiarella cordifolia, the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name cordifolia means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of Tiarella in eastern North America. It is also referred to as Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, and coolwort.
Silene coronaria, the rose campion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Eurasia. Other common names include dusty miller, mullein-pink and bloody William. In the United Kingdom it is still widely referenced under its synonym Lychnis coronaria.
Silene flos-jovis, the flower-of-Jove, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to the central Alps and found at elevations of 1,000–2,400 m (3,281–7,874 ft). It is a mat-forming perennial growing to 20–60 cm (8–24 in) tall and 45 cm (18 in) wide, with hairy grey-green leaves and clusters of notched pink flowers throughout summer.
Trillium luteum, the yellow trillium or yellow wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a closely related group of sessile-flowered trilliums. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, especially in and around the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
Tiarella trifoliata, the three-leaf foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name trifoliata means "having three leaflets", a characteristic of two of the three recognized varieties. Also known as the laceflower or sugar-scoop, the species is found in shaded, moist woods in western North America.
Symphyotrichum cordifolium, commonly known as common blue wood aster, heartleaf aster, and blue wood-aster, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America. It reaches heights of up to 1.2 meters and has bluish daisy-like flowers which bloom late-summer and fall in its range.
Silene scouleri is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names simple campion and Scouler's catchfly.
Viscaria vulgaris, the sticky catchfly or clammy campion, is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.
Silene schafta, the Caucasian campion or autumn catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to western Asia. Growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall by 30 cm (12 in) wide, it is a mat-forming semi-evergreen perennial, with narrow leaves and clusters of bright pink, five-petalled flowers in late summer.
Petrorhagia saxifraga, known as tunic flower or coat flower, is a small, herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to parts of Europe and introduced to the United States and Canada, Great Britain, and Sweden. Petrorhagia saxifraga is also known as tunic saxifrage, pink saxifrage, or just pink.
Symphyotrichum potosinum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico and the U.S. state of Arizona. Commonly known as Santa Rita Mountain aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach heights of 15 to 45 centimeters.
Silene cognata, the orange campion or orange catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to eastern and northern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Primorsky Krai in Russia. In the wild it is found in a wide variety of habitats, from 500 to 2000 m above sea level. It is occasionally available from commercial suppliers, usually under its synonym Lychnis cognata. In Korea its leaves are harvested in the wild and sold in local markets as a food.