| Silene nutans | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Silene |
| Species: | S. nutans |
| Binomial name | |
| Silene nutans | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Silene nutans is a flowering plant in the genus Silene , most commonly known as Nottingham catchfly. [3]
Silene nutans is a diploid, mainly outcrossing, herbaceous, perennial plant. [4] It grows up to 25–80 centimetres (10–31 in) tall, from a branching, woody stock with a thick taproot. [5] The lower leaves are up to 75 millimetres (3 in) long, spathulate and have a long stalk, while leaves higher on the plant are lanceolate, subsessile and acute; all the leaves are covered in soft hairs. [5] The flowers are 18 millimetres (0.7 in) wide, 12 millimetres (0.5 in) long, and drooping, on short, viscid stalks. The petals are white or pinkish and divided into two narrow lobes. Each flower remains open for three nights as a means of preventing self-fertilisation; the flower reveals one whorl of stamens on the first night, the second whorl of stamens on the second night, and the three styles on the third night. [5] The seeds are 10–22 millimetres (0.4–0.9 in) wide and kidney-shaped. [5]
Silene nutans is widespread across Europe, from southern Spain and Italy north to the British Isles and Scandinavia, and is also found across large parts of Asia. [2] It has been introduced to North America, where it is known as the Eurasian catchfly. It is found in the U.S. states of Michigan, Ohio, New York, Vermont and Maine. [6]
Silene nutans can sometimes be found in the very widespread MG1 (Arrhenatherum elatius grassland) community of the British National Vegetation Classification, and thus can be found where Arrhenatherum elatius (false oat grass) or Dactylis glomerata (cocksfoot) occur. [7]
Silene nutans is a steppe species across most of its range. At the periphery of its distribution, it has a patchy distribution in xeric habitats, such as open grasslands and on rock outcrops at forest margins, on both acidic and alkaline substrates (pH 3.8–8.0). [4] In the far north of its range, S. nutans is characteristic of maritime cliffs. [8]
Silene nutans flowers during the night, and produces a strong floral scent to attract its pollinators, which are mostly night-flying moths. Chemical compounds in the scent include benzyl acetate and benzaldehyde. [9]
Silene nutans is the host plant for the leaf mining moth Coleophora galbulipennella . [10]
The common name Nottingham catchfly commemorates the former occurrence of S. nutans on the walls of Nottingham Castle, [11] and the species was chosen to represent the unitary authority of Nottingham as its county flower. [12] Despite this association, Nottingham catchflies no longer occur in either the city of Nottingham [13] or the wider county of Nottinghamshire. [14]
Nottingham Castle Trust asked volunteers to grow the plant from seeds supplied to donate the successful plants back to the City to commemorate the re-opening of the renovation of Nottingham Castle. [15]
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.
Arrhenatherum, commonly called oatgrass or button-grass, is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the grass family.
Silene dioica, known as red campion and red catchfly, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native throughout central, western and northern Europe, and locally in southern Europe. It has been introduced in Iceland, Canada, the US, and Argentina.
Tuberaria guttata, the spotted rock-rose or annual rock-rose, is an annual plant of the Mediterranean region which also occurs very locally in Wales and Ireland. The flowers are very variable with the characteristic spot at the base of the petal very variable in size and intensity of colour.
Dactylis glomerata is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as cock's-foot, orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its popularity for use with domestic cats). It is a cool-season perennial C3 bunchgrass native throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa.
Arrhenatherum elatius is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as bulbous oat grass, false oat-grass, tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass. It is native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. This bunchgrass is often used as an ornamental grass and is sometimes marketed as "cat grass".
British NVC community MG1, Arrhenatherum elatius grassland, is one of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. This type of plant community was named in 1919 as Arrhenatheretum elatiorisBr.-Bl.. It is a very widespread community throughout the British lowlands of England, Wales and southern and eastern Scotland.
British NVC community MG2 is one of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
NVC community CG2 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as "typical" chalk grassland.
British NVC community MC4 is one of the maritime cliff communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of five communities categorised as maritime cliff crevice and ledge communities.
Coleophora galbulipennella is a moth of the family Coleophoridae or leaf miners. It is known from Europe, where it is found from Sweden to Spain, Italy and Greece and from Great Britain to southern Russia.
Silene suecica is a species of plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. Its common name is red Alpine catchfly and its natural habitat is the mountains of Norway and Sweden but it is sometimes found near the coasts and it is also found in the Alps and the Pyrenees, Greenland and North America.
Silene stellata, known by the common names starry campion, widow's frill, and whorled catchfly, is a perennial herbaceous summer forb with white flowers, native to the central and eastern United States. It grows in habitats such as forests, river flats, and tall grass prairies.
Silene bridgesii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Bridges' catchfly. It is native to California, where it can be found throughout the Sierra Nevada and the southern reaches of the Cascade Range to the north, its distribution possibly extending into Oregon. It grows in mountain forests and woodlands. It is a perennial herb growing from a taproot and woody caudex unit, its stem decumbent or growing erect to half a meter or more in height. It is hairy, the upper hairs glandular, making the plant sticky in texture. The lower leaves are widely lance-shaped, up to 8 centimeters long by 1.5 wide. Upper leaves are smaller. Flowers occur in a terminal cyme at the top of the stem, as well as in some of the leaf axils, where they nod or hang like a bell. Each has a hairy, glandular calyx of fused sepals with ten veins. The calyx is open at the tip, revealing five white, pinkish, or greenish petals each with two rectangular lobes at the tip. The very long stamens and three styles protrude from the flower's center.
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.
Coleophora albella is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in most of Europe.
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 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 italica is a species of plant native to Southern Europe and parts of Asia. It is also introduced to parts of the United States and Northern Europe.
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