| Silene dioica | |
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| Silene dioica (red campion) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Silene |
| Species: | S. dioica |
| Binomial name | |
| Silene dioica | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Silene dioica (syn. Melandrium rubrum), known as red campion [2] and red catchfly, [3] is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe and introduced to the Americas.
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It is a biennial or perennial plant, The plant grows to 30–90 centimetres (12–35 inches) tall, with branching stems. The deep green leaves are in opposite and decussate pairs, simple acute ovate, 3–8 cm (1–3 in) long with an untoothed margin; both the leaves and stems of the plant are hairy and slightly sticky. The upper leaves are stalkless.
Blooming from May to October, the unscented flowers are dark pink to red, each 1.8–2.5 cm (3⁄4–1 in) across. There are five petals which are deeply notched at the end, narrowed at the base and all go into an urn-shaped calyx. As indicated by the specific name, male and female flowers are borne on separate plants (dioecious), the male with 10 stamens and a 10-veined calyx, the female with 5 styles and a 20-veined calyx.
The fruit, produced from July onwards, is an ovoid capsule containing numerous seeds, opening at the apex by 10 teeth which curve back.
Plants of Silene latifolia × Silene dioica = Silene × hampeana that are fertile hybrids with the closely related white campion ( Silene latifolia ) are common in some areas. They may have paler pink flowers and be intermediate between the two species in other characters. [4]
Silene dioica is native to northern and central Europe and is locally abundant throughout the British Isles. [5] It is generally common in Northern Ireland, [6] but rare elsewhere in Ireland. [7] It is common on the Isle of Man. [8] It has been introduced in Iceland, Canada, the US, and Argentina. [1]
Red campion grows in roadsides, woodlands, and rocky slopes. It prefers to grow on damp, non-acid soils. [9]
The flowers are frequently visited by flies such as Rhingia campestris . [10] The nectar of the flowers is utilised by bumblebees and butterflies, and several species of moth feed on the foliage.
The flowers of red-campion along with a number of other Caryophyllaceae members, are very susceptible to a smut (fungus) infection. In this case by Microbotryum silenes-dioicae known as anther-smut [11] which appears as a mass of brown spores in the mouth of the flower where the anthers would normally be.
This plant is used as an ornamental perennial flower for the perennial border. One particularly notable variety is a hot pink, double flowered variety with deep green leaves called 'Firefly'.
On the Isle of Man, it is known as "blaa ny ferrishyn" or "fairy flower", and there is a local taboo against picking it. [8]
Silene acaulis, known as moss campion or cushion pink, is a small mountain-dwelling wildflower that is common all over the high arctic and tundra and in high mountains of Eurasia and North America. It is an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae.
Silene latifolia, commonly known as white campion, is a dioecious flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, Western Asia and northern Africa. It is a herbaceous annual, occasionally biennial or a short-lived perennial plant, growing to between 40–80 centimetres tall. It is also known in the US as bladder campion but should not be confused with Silene vulgaris, which is more generally called bladder campion.
Microbotryum violaceum, also known as the anther smut fungus, was formerly known as Ustilago violacea. It is a Basidiomycete obligate parasite of many Caryophyllaceae. But it has now separated into many species due to its host specificity.
Silene laciniata is a perennial herb in the family (Caryophyllaceae), commonly known as fringed Indian pink, cardinal catchfly, Mexican campion, Mexican-pink, and campion.
Silene douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Douglas's catchfly.
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 hookeri is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Hooker's silene, Hooker's catchfly, Hooker's Indian pink, and Hooker's glandular campion.
Silene invisa is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names red fir catchfly and short-petaled campion.
Silene marmorensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Marble Mountain catchfly, Marble Mountain campion, and Somes Bar campion. It is endemic to the southern Klamath Mountains of northern California, where it grows in mountain woodlands and forests. It is a perennial herb producing several stems and shoots from a woody, branching caudex and thick taproot. The hairy, glandular stems grow erect to a maximum height near 40 centimeters. The lance-shaped leaves are a few centimeters long and are borne in pairs, the lowermost drying early. The inflorescence is a terminal cyme of flowers at the top of the stem, and some flowers may occur in the leaf axils. Each flower has a hairy, veined calyx of fused sepals. The flowers bloom at night, the five pinkish or green-tinged petals opening at the tip of the calyx.
Silene menziesii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Menzies' campion and Menzies' catchfly. It is native to western North America from Alaska through the western half of Canada to the southwestern United States. It can be found in many types of habitat and it is quite common in much of its range. It is variable in morphology and there are a number of varied subtaxa. In general, it is a perennial herb growing from a caudex, appearing matlike, decumbent, or erect, with stems a few centimeters to over half a meter long. It is usually hairy in texture, with upper parts bearing sticky glandular hairs. The leaves are lance-shaped, oppositely arranged in pairs, and a few centimeters in length, upper leaves usually smaller than lower. Flowers may occur in a cyme at the top of the stem, or in leaf axils, or both. Each is encapsulated in a hairy, veined calyx of fused sepals. The petals are white with two lobes at the tips. The plant is dioecious with male and female plants producing different flowers. The male and female flower types look the same externally; the stamens are reduced in female plants and the stigmas are reduced in the male.
Silene nuda is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names western fringed catchfly and sticky catchfly.
Silene occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names western catchfly and western campion.
Silene scouleri is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names simple campion and Scouler's catchfly.
Silene suksdorfii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Suksdorf's silene, Suksdorf's catchfly and Cascade alpine campion. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where it occurs from Washington and Idaho to northern California. It is mainly an alpine species, growing in the talus of high mountain slopes. It can also be found below the tree line in forested subalpine habitat. It is a squat perennial herb producing several erect stems from a leafy, woody caudex. It generally takes a clumpy form. The stems grow up to 10 or 15 centimeters tall and are hairy in texture, with glandular, sticky areas on the upper parts. The leaves occur in tufts around the caudex. They are fleshy and coated in soft hairs. Solitary flowers arise on erect peduncles. Each is encapsulated in an inflated calyx of fused sepals, which is starkly purple-veined and has purplish glandular hairs. The petals are white or purple-tinged and have two lobes at their tips and appendages at their bases.
Silene verecunda is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name San Francisco campion.
Stellaria borealis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name boreal starwort. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout northern areas of the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, including marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, floodplains, talus, ditches, and moist spots in forests and woodlands. It is quite variable in appearance, especially across subspecies. In general, it is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming mats of branching, four-angled stems lined with lance-shaped leaves a few centimeters in length. The inflorescence bears many flowers each with five deeply lobed white petals. Some flowers lack petals and have only the five pointed green sepals.
Silene polypetala is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names eastern fringed catchfly and fringed campion. It is native to Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of suitable habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Silene spaldingii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Spalding's silene, Spalding's catchfly and Spalding's campion. It is native to eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho and northern Montana, where its distribution extends just into British Columbia, Canada. Much of its former habitat has been converted to agriculture and its range is now limited to the last remaining stretches of pristine prairie grassland in this region. It is threatened by the degradation and loss of its remaining habitat. It is federally listed as a threatened species in the United States and it is designated endangered by Canada's COSEWIC.
Silene uniflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name sea campion.
Microbotryum silenes-dioicae is a species of fungus first isolated from Brittany, France. Its name refers to its host species, Silene dioica. The fungus is the cause of anther-smut disease, which results in fungal spores replacing the pollen in the anthers. The species that most resembles ‘’M. silenes-dioicae’’ morphologically is M. lychnidis-dioicae.
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