Silene flos-cuculi

For the comic book character, see Ragged Robin (comics).

Silene flos-cuculi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Silene
Species:	S. flos-cuculi
Binomial name
Silene flos-cuculi (L.) Greuter & Burdet
Synonyms
Coronaria flos-cuculi(L.) A.Braun Lychnis flos-cuculiL.

Silene flos-cuculi (syn. Lychnis flos-cuculi), the ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. ^{[1] [2]} It is native to Eurasia and Siberia ^[3] and has been introduced to North America.

Description

"Lychnis flos-cuculi" in Botanica in Originali, by Johann Hieronymus Kniphof

Silene flos-cuculi forms a rosette of low growing foliage with numerous stems 30 to 90 centimetres (12 to 35+1⁄2 inches) tall. The stems rise above the foliage and branch near the top of the stem. ^[4] The leaves are paired, with the lower leaves spoon-shaped and stalked.^{[ citation needed ]} The middle and upper leaves are linear-lanceolate with pointed apexes. All of the leaves are untoothed. The stems have barbed hairs pointing downward and these hairs make the plant rough to the touch. ^[4]

Blooming from May to August (and occasionally later), the pink flowers are 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) wide. They have five narrow petals deeply divided into four lobes giving the flower an untidy, ragged appearance, hence its common name. The calyx tube is five-toothed with ten stamens. There are 5 styles. ^{[5] : 154}

The fruits consist of small (6 to 10 mm) capsules opening on top by five teeth and containing many small seeds; they are found on the plants from August onward.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to Europe and Asia, ^[1] where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and pastures. It has also become naturalized in parts of the northern United States and eastern Canada. ^[6]

Ecology

A population of ragged robin in Estonia

Butterflies and long-tongued bees feed on the flowers' nectar. In addition to these pollinators, the flowers are visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized pollination syndrome. ^[7]

In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common.

Cultivation

Popular garden cultivars include:

• 'Alba' – white-flowered form
• Jenny = 'Lychjen' ^[8]
• 'Nana' – dwarf form (4 inches) with smaller leaf rosettes and shorter flower stems
• 'Petite Jenny' ^[9]
• 'White Robin' ^[10]

References

1. "Silene flos-cuculi". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 19 July 2020.
2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
3. "Silene flos-cuculi (L.) Greuter & Burdet". powo.science.kew.org. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew . Retrieved 29 March 2025.
4. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1993). Flora of North America: Volume 5: Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, Part 2. OUP USA. p. 185. ISBN   978-0-19-522211-1.
5. Harrap, Simon (2013). Harrap's Wild Flowers (1 ed.). London: Bloomsbury. p. 415. ISBN   9781472966483.
6. "Lychnis flos-cuculi L. USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database". Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
7. Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2015). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers" (PDF). Plant Biology. 18 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. PMID   25754608. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
8. "Lychnis flos-cuculiJenny = 'Lychjen'". RHS. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
9. "Lychnis flos-cuculi 'Petite Jenny'". RHS. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
10. "Lychnis flos-cuculi 'White Robin'". RHS. Retrieved 4 June 2021.