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.
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae, and Polygonaceae. It is a large family, with 81 genera and about 2,625 known species.
Silene chalcedonica, the Maltese-cross or scarlet lychnis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to central and eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwestern China. Other common names include flower of Bristol, Jerusalem cross and nonesuch.
Silene flos-cuculi, commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and pastures. In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common. However, it has become naturalized in parts of the northern United States and eastern Canada.
Silene armeria, commonly known as the Sweet William catchfly, is a species of plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. Originally a native of Europe, it has become widespread in the United States. Perennial in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 to 8. A small-growing form is known as dwarf catchfly. The name comes from the way in which small insects are trapped by the sticky sap exuded onto the stem. However it is not currently regarded as a carnivorous plant, though it has been identified as a carnivorous plant in the past.
Silene nutans is a flowering plant in the genus Silene, most commonly known as Nottingham catchfly.
Silene coronaria, the rose campion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Asia and Europe. 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.
Silene campanulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Red Mountain catchfly and bell catchfly. It may be a synonym of Silene greenei.
Silene dichotoma is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name forked catchfly. It is native to Eurasia and it is known in other parts of the temperate world, such as sections of North America, where it is a weed that grows in disturbed habitat. It is an annual herb growing up to 80 centimeters tall. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 8 centimeters long on the lower stem and are smaller farther up. Each flower is encapsulated in an inflated calyx of sepals lined with ten veins. It is open at the tip, revealing five white to red petals, each with two lobes at the tip and sometimes taking a curled form.
Silene gallica is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by several common names, including common catchfly, small-flowered catchfly, and windmill pink. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it can be found throughout much of the temperate world as a common roadside weed.
Silene noctiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene and clammy cockle. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. In North America, it is a common weed of grain crops in the Canadian prairie provinces and in much of the United States. It grows in fields and in other disturbed habitat.
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 otites, called Spanish catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Silene, native to Europe and the Transcaucasus area, and introduced to Xinjiang in China. It varies its floral odors to attract mosquitoes and moths at night and flies and bees by day. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants.
Silene pendula, called the nodding catchfly or drooping catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Silene, native to Italy, Greece, and Turkey, and introduced to scattered locations in North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. A number of cultivars are available. A 2020 study showed with certainty that, despite their morphological similarities, Silene cisplatensis is not synonymous with Silene pendula.
Silene banksia is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to southeastern Siberia, most of China, and North Korea, and it has been introduced to Mongolia and Japan. The species goes by the common names Chinese lychnis and jian chun luo. It is a cultigen, domesticated in northeast Asia at some time on the distant past. No wild individuals are known.
Silene bellidifolia is a species of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae (carpetweeds).
Silene paradoxa, the Dover catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to southeastern France, Corsica, Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece. It can grow on serpentine soils and copper mine tailings.
