Silene stellata

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Silene stellata
Silene stellata - Starry Campion.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Silene
Species:
S. stellata
Binomial name
Silene stellata

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.

Contents

Silene stellata habit.jpg

Description

S. stellata grows to a height of 0.3–1 metre (1–3 ft), with one or multiple stems rising from the rootstock. The stems are a purplish color near the bottom and a pale green toward the top, except at leaf nodes, which are also a purplish color. Leaves are lanceolate, sessile, and have a smooth margin. They are opposite near the bottom of the plant and in whorls of 4 on the rest of the stem. Leaves are up to 10 centimetres (4 in) long and 3.8 centimetres (1.5 in) wide. The inflorescence is a loose panicle consisting of several branches, each with 1 to 6 or more white flowers with 5 petals. Flowers are up to 1.9 centimetres (0.75 in) wide. [1] The flowers have no scent. [2]

Etymology

Silene is from the Greek god Silenus. Stellata means "star-shaped" in Latin.

Distribution and habitat

The plant can be found in woods, river flats, and tall grass prairies, and it prefers a dry to mesic habitat with light shade or partial sun. [2] [3] It is native to the central and eastern United States, from Texas to the west and Vermont to the east and north. [4]

Ecology

S. stellata blooms from June to September for 3 to 4 weeks. [5] The white flowers close when there is bright sun. [1] Moths are the primary pollinators, although butterflies also pollinate the flowers. [2] The plant is a host for the caterpillars of the Hadena ectypa moth. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Silene</i> Genus of flowering plants

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.

<i>Ajuga reptans</i> Species of flowering plant

Ajuga reptans is commonly known as bugle, blue bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed, carpetweed, carpet bugleweed, and common bugle, and traditionally but less commonly as St. Lawrence plant. It is an herbaceous flowering plant, in the mint family, native to Europe. It is invasive in parts of North America. Ajuga reptans is also a component of purple moor grass and rush pastures, a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the United Kingdom.

<i>Silene latifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene latifolia subsp. alba, the 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.

<i>Silene dioica</i> Species of flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

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.

<i>Silene nutans</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene nutans is a flowering plant in the genus Silene, most commonly known as Nottingham catchfly.

<i>Asclepias verticillata</i> Species of flowering plant

Asclepias verticillata, the whorled milkweed, eastern whorled milkweed, or horsetail milkweed, is a species of milkweed native to most of eastern North America and parts of western Canada and the United States.

<i>Silene caroliniana</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene caroliniana, the sticky catchfly or wild pink, is a spring flowering perennial forb with pink flowers, which is native to the Eastern United States. It is listed as an endangered species by the state of Florida. It is found growing in habitats such as dry rocky or sandy forests, barrens, and outcrops.

Silene serpentinicola is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name serpentine Indian pink and serpentine catchfly.

<i>Silene campanulata</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Silene douglasii</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Douglas's catchfly.

<i>Silene lemmonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene lemmonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Lemmon's catchfly.

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.

<i>Silene noctiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Silene occidentalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names western catchfly and western campion.

<i>Silene oregana</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene oregana is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Oregon silene, Oregon campion and Oregon catchfly. It is native to the western United States, including the Great Basin, where it grows in habitat such as sagebrush and forests. It is a perennial herb growing from a woody caudex and taproot, sending up an erect, mostly unbranched stem which may be 70 centimeters tall. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 8 centimeters long around the caudex, and shorter farther up the stem. Flowers occur in a terminal cyme and sometimes in leaf axils. Each flower is encapsulated in a hairy, glandular calyx of fused sepals. The five petals are creamy white or pink-tinged in color and each has four to six long, fringelike lobes at the tip.

<i>Silene scouleri</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Silene spaldingii</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Silene regia</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name royal catchfly. It is native to the central United States. A perennial herb, it grows from a fleshy taproot and has several erect stems growing up to 1.6 meters tall. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and up to 12 centimeters long, becoming smaller farther up the stem. The inflorescence is an array of many flowers at the top of the stem. The elongate tubular calyx of sepals is up to 2.5 centimeters long and has 10 longitudinal veins. The lobes of the bright red corolla are 1 to 2 centimeters long.

<i>Opuntia macrocentra</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia macrocentra, the long-spined purplish prickly pear or purple pricklypear, is a cactus found in the lower Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. A member of the prickly pear genus, this species of Opuntia is most notable as one of a few cacti that produce a purple pigmentation in the stem. Other common names for this plant include black-spined pricklypear, long-spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear, and redeye prickly pear.

References

  1. 1 2 ANPS, Webmaster (21 July 2014). "Know Your Natives – Starry Campion". Arkansas Native Plant Society.
  2. 1 2 3 "Starry Campion (Silene stellata)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
  3. "Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Silene stellata (L.) Ait. F."
  4. "USDA Plants Database".
  5. "Silene stellata (Starry Campion, Whorled Catchfly, Widowsfrill, Widow's Frill) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu.
  6. "HOSTS - The Hostplants and Caterpillars Database at the Natural History Museum". www.nhm.ac.uk.