Silene uniflora

Silene uniflora
Sea campion on the north coast of Iceland
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Silene
Species:	S. uniflora
Binomial name
Silene uniflora Roth
Subspecies [1]
S. u. subsp. petraea S. u. subsp. thorei S. u. subsp. uniflora
Synonyms [1]
Behenantha uniflora Oberna uniflora Silene inflata var. uniflora Wahlbergella uniflora

Silene uniflora is a species of flowering plant in the carnation family known by the common name sea campion.

Description

Silene uniflora is a perennial plant that forms a mat with stems growing outwards to between 10 and 40 cm. A plant will grow a large main root that can be a thick storage root like that of a carrot or turnip. ^[2] The stems can grow along the ground or grow upwards towards their ends. ^[3]

The leaves are hairless and glaucous, grey-green due to a covering of natural waxes. ^[4] They have a fleshy texture and a variety of shapes including lanceolate, oblanceolate, elliptic or spatulate. ^[2] The flowers white with five deeply notched petals, the five sepals fused and inflated to form a bladder. ^[4] Each flower has three pistils and three stamens that are almost enclosed by the flower. ^[5]

It is similar in appearance to the bladder campion ( Silene vulgaris ) but with flowers generally solitary. ^[6]

Taxonomy

In 1762 Carl Linnaeus named Silene amoena, a species that does not have the same description as Silene uniflora, but is regarded as a synonym of Silene uniflora subsp. uniflora. ^[7] The scientific description and naming of the species as a whole was by Albrecht Wilhelm Roth in 1794. It is classified in the genus Silene which is in the family Caryophyllaceae. ^[1]

Subspecies

The sea campion has three subspecies listed as accepted by Plants of the World Online (POWO): ^[1]

• S. uniflora subsp. petraea(C. Hartm.) Jonsell & H. C. Prent.
  Endemic to Sweden ^[8]
• S. uniflora subsp. thorei(Dufour) Jalas
  Native to Southwest France (extinct in Spain) ^[9]
• S. uniflora subsp. uniflora
  Atlantic Europe, the Azores, Madeira ^[7]

However, other sources such as the World Flora Online (WFO) and World Plants (WP) list additional subspecies as accepted. ^{[10] [11]}

• Silene uniflora subsp. cratericola(Franco) Franco (WP)
• Silene uniflora subsp. glareosa(Jord.) Chater & S.M.Walters (WFO)
• Silene uniflora subsp. prostrata(Gaudin) Chater & S.M.Walters (WFO)

There are 54 synonyms of sea campion or one of its three subspecies. ^{[1] [8] [9] [7]}

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Synonym of:	Notes
Behen alpinus(Lam.) Guşul.	1953	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Behen maritimus(With.) Link	1829	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Behen uniflorusLink	1829	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Behenantha uniflora(Roth) Ikonn.	1975	species	S. uniflora	≡ hom.
Cucubalus alpinusLam.	1786	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Cucubalus behen var. maritimus(With.) Wahlenb.	1812	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Cucubalus fabariusThore	1803	species	subsp. thorei	= het., nom. illeg.
Cucubalus littoralisPers.	1805	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Cucubalus maritimus(With.) Lam.	1786	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Oberna alpina(Lam.) Ikonn.	1976	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Oberna behen subsp. maritima(With.) Soják	1984	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Oberna behen subsp. thorei(Dufour) Soják	1984	subspecies	subsp. thorei	≡ hom.
Oberna thorei(Dufour) Holub	1977	species	subsp. thorei	≡ hom.
Oberna uniflora(Roth) Ikonn.	1976	species	S. uniflora	≡ hom.
Oberna uniflora subsp. islandica(Á.Löve & D.Löve) Holub	1977	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene alpina(Lam.) E.Thomas ex Gren. & Godr.	1847	species	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene amoenaL.	1762	species	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene bastardiiBoreau ex J.Lloyd	1878	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene crassifoliaThore	1810	species	subsp. thorei	≡ hom., nom. illeg.
Silene cucubalus proles maritima(With.) Rouy & Foucaud	1896	proles	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene cucubalus subsp. alpina(Lam.) Dostál	1948	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene cucubalus subsp. thorei(Dufour) Rouy & Foucaud	1896	subspecies	subsp. thorei	≡ hom.
Silene cucubalus var. bastardii(Boreau ex J.Lloyd) Rouy	1883	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene cucubalus var. petraea(Fr.) Rouy & Foucaud	1896	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene cucubalus var. tenellaRouy & Foucaud	1896	variety	subsp. thorei	= het.
Silene inflata subsp. alpina(Lam.) Killias	1887	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene inflata subsp. maritima(With.) Bonnier & Layens	1894	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene inflata subsp. thorei(Dufour) Bonnier & Layens	1894	subspecies	subsp. thorei	≡ hom.
Silene inflata var. maritima(With.) Hartm.	1820	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene inflata var. petraeaFr.	1842	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene inflata var. uniflora(Roth) Lej. & Courtois	1831	variety	S. uniflora	≡ hom.
Silene maritima(With.) Sm.	1800	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene maritima subsp. alpina(Lam.) Nyman	1878	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene maritima subsp. islandicaÁ.Löve & D.Löve	1956	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene maritima var. nigrescensMerino	1905	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene maritima var. petraeaC.Hartm.	1879	variety	subsp. petraea	≡ hom.
Silene maritima var. stenophyllaMerino	1905	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene mauritanicaPott ex Rohrb.	1869	species	subsp. uniflora	= het., not validly publ.
Silene montanaArrond.	1863	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene stenophyllaPlanellas	1852	species	subsp. uniflora	= het., nom. illeg.
Silene stenophylla var. micraPlanellas	1852	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene thoreiDufour	1825	species	subsp. thorei	≡ hom.
Silene uniflora subsp. cratericola(Franco) Franco	1986	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene uniflora var. montana(Arrond.) Kerguélen	1986	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene venosa proles maritima(With.) Samp.	1911	proles	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene venosa subsp. alpina(Lam.) Simonk.	1877	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene venosa var. maritima(With.) Menezes	1914	variety	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene vulgaris subsp. alpina(Lam.) Nyman	1878	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene vulgaris subsp. cratericolaFranco	1971	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene vulgaris subsp. maritima(With.) Á.Löve & D.Löve	1961	subspecies	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Silene vulgaris subsp. thorei(Dufour) Chater & Walters	1964	subspecies	subsp. thorei	≡ hom.
Silene willdenowiiSweet ex O.Schwarz	1949	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Viscago maritimaWith.	1796	species	subsp. uniflora	= het.
Wahlbergella uniflora(Roth) Fr.	1843	species	S. uniflora	≡ hom.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym  ; = heterotypic synonym

Names

Silene uniflora is known by the common name sea campion. ^[6] The first use of this name dates to 1597. ^[12]

Range and habitat

Silene unifloraSilene uniflora is a maritime species growing in many European countries, but almost entirely along the coasts bordering the Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. ^[2] In northern Europe it is native to the coasts of Scandinavia including Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Russia as far east as the Kola Peninsula. ^{[13] [2]} It is also listed as native to Poland by POWO. It is not found or native to the Baltic States or Russia on the Baltic Sea. ^[1] In western Europe it is native to the west coast of France, the northern coast of Spain, and a limited area in northern Portugal. ^[13] It grows all around the shores of Ireland and the United Kingdom and is also some mountainous areas near fresh water, ^[6] though only rarely. ^[4] Further out in the Atlantic Ocean it is native to the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and Iceland. ^[1]

It has been introduced to Germany, Argentina, and New Zealand. ^[11]

It is one of the long-lived perennial plant species that establish on coastal shingle that has been stable for between five and twenty years. ^[14] It also grows in the dunes and at the strandline on beaches. ^[15]

References

1. POWO 2025a.
2. Talavera 1991, p. 397.
3. Stace 1991, p. 217.
4. Stace 2010, p. 472.
5. Anderberg 2005a.
6. Blamey, Fitter & Fitter 2003, p. 44.
7. POWO 2025d.
8. POWO 2025b.
9. POWO 2025c.
10. WFO 2025.
11. Hassler 2025.
12. OED 2025.
13. Anderberg 2005b.
14. Packham & Willis 1997, p. 226.
15. Packham & Willis 1997, p. 163.

Sources

Books

• Blamey, Marjorie; Fitter, Richard; Fitter, Alastair (2003). The Wild Flowers of Britain & Ireland . London: A. & C. Black. ISBN   978-0-7136-5943-6. OCLC   52512869 . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• Packham, John R.; Willis, A. J. (1997). Ecology of Dunes, Salt Marsh, and Shingle (First ed.). London ; New York: Chapman & Hall. ISBN   978-0-412-57980-6. OCLC   37764809.
• Stace, C.A. (1991). New Flora of the British Isles (First ed.). Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-42793-7. OCLC   25309430 . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• Stace, C.A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521707725. OCLC   647075102.

Web sources

• Anderberg, Arne (10 November 2005) [1997]. "Silene uniflora Roth — Strandglim" ['Silene uniflora Roth — Beach slips]. Den virtuella floran[The Virtual Flora] (in Swedish). Naturhistoriska riksmuseet. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• Anderberg, Arne (10 November 2005) [1997]. "Silene uniflora Roth — Strandglim: Norra halvklotet" ['Silene uniflora Roth — Beach slips: Northern Hemisphere]. Den virtuella floran[The Virtual Flora] (in Swedish). Naturhistoriska riksmuseet. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
• Hassler, Michael (15 June 2025). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.06". World Plants. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• "Sea Campion, N." . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/4490321945.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
• POWO (2025). "Silene uniflora Roth". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• POWO (2025). "Silene uniflora subsp. petraea (C.Hartm.) Jonsell & H.C.Prent". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• POWO (2025). "Silene uniflora subsp. thorei (Dufour) Jalas". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• POWO (2025). "Silene uniflora subsp. uniflora". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
• Talavera, Salvador (1991). Laínz, M.; Muñoz Garmendia, F. (eds.). "Silene" (PDF). Flora Iberica (in Spanish). Real Jardín Botánico. pp. 313–406. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
• WFO (2025). "Silene uniflora Roth". World Flora Online . Retrieved 17 June 2025.