| 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 | |
| |
Silene flos-cuculi (syn. Lychnis flos-cuculi), commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. [1] [2] It is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to North America.
Silene flos-cuculi forms a rosette of low growing foliage with numerous stems 20 to 90 centimetres (8 to 35+1⁄2 inches) tall. The stems rise above the foliage and branch near the top of the stem. The leaves are paired, with the lower leaves spoon-shaped and stalked. 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.
Blooming from May to August (and occasionally later), the pink flowers are 3–4 cm 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.
The fruits consist of small (6–10 mm) capsules opening on top by five teeth and containing many small seeds; they are found on the plants from August onwards.
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. [3]
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. [4]
In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common.
Popular garden cultivars include:
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.
Cirsium palustre, the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Pulmonaria (lungwort) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe and western Asia, with one species east to central Asia. According to various estimates there may be between 10 and 18 species found in the wild.
Lathyrus latifolius, the perennial peavine, perennial pea, broad-leaved everlasting-pea, or just everlasting pea, is a robust, sprawling herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe but is present on other continents, such as North America and Australia, where it is most often seen along roadsides.
Dasiphora fruticosa is a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains. Dasiphora fruticosa is still widely referenced in the horticultural literature under its synonym Potentilla fruticosa. Common names include shrubby cinquefoil, golden hardhack, bush cinquefoil, shrubby five-finger, widdy, kuril tea and tundra rose.
Silene chalcedonica, the Maltese-cross or scarlet lychnis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Eurasia. Other common names include flower of Bristol, Jerusalem cross and nonesuch.
Primula vulgaris, the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Eurasia. The common name is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species referred to as primroses.
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.
Malva moschata, the musk mallow or musk-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to the British Isles and Poland, and east to southern Russia and Turkey. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall, it is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stems and foliage, and pink saucer-shaped flowers in summer.
Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.
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.
Ramonda myconi, the Pyrenean-violet or rosette mullein, syn. R. pyrenaica, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, which is a relictual endemite of shady, rocky places in the Pyrenees and north eastern Spain. It is a rosette-forming evergreen perennial growing to 10 cm (4 in) high by 20 cm (8 in) broad, with oval, crinkled leaves. Five-petalled purple flowers with prominent yellow anthers appear on leafless stems in spring.
Saxifraga paniculata is an alpine species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family, with native distribution in the temperate northern hemisphere. Common names include alpine saxifrage, encrusted saxifrage, lifelong saxifrage, lime-encrusted saxifrage, livelong saxifrage, white mountain saxifrage, and silver saxifrage.
Aurinia saxatilis is an ornamental plant native to Asia and Europe.
Verbascum blattaria, the moth mullein, is a flowering biennial plant belonging to the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. A native of Eurasia and North Africa, it has naturalized in the United States and most of Canada since its introduction and has become an invasive species there. It has been declared a noxious weed by the state of Colorado.
A cushion plant is a compact, low-growing, mat-forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world. The term "cushion" is usually applied to woody plants that grow as spreading mats, are limited in height above the ground, have relatively large and deep tap roots, and have life histories adapted to slow growth in a nutrient-poor environment with delayed reproductivity and reproductive cycle adaptations. The plant form is an example of parallel or convergent evolution with species from many different plant families on different continents converging on the same evolutionary adaptations to endure the harsh environmental conditions.
Anemonoides blanda, syn. Anemone blanda, the Balkan anemone, Grecian windflower, or winter windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. The species is native to southeastern Europe and the Middle East. The specific epithet blanda means "mild" or "charming". The genus name is derived from the Greek word anemos, or wind.
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.
Verbascum phoeniceum, known as purple mullein, is a species of mullein that is part of the family Scrophulariaceae native to Central Europe, Central Asia and Western China. It is also naturalized in certain regions of the US and Canada. It successfully grows in USDA’s zones 4 to 8. It is a short-lived perennial species, and blooms earlier than other mullein species on average, producing vibrant purple-pink flowers; it can grow up to 1m or more.
Viscaria vulgaris, the sticky catchfly or clammy campion, is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.
