Silene campanulata

Silene campanulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Red Mountain catchfly[1] and bell catchfly.[2] It may be a synonym of Silene greenei.[3]

Silene campanulata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Silene
Species:
S. campanulata
Binomial name
Silene campanulata

It is native to the mountains of Oregon and northern California, where it grows in forest and chaparral habitat, sometimes on serpentine soils.

Description

Silene campanulata is a perennial herb growing up to 40 centimeters tall with many small shoots coming from a woody, branching caudex with a taproot. The erect stems are usually hairy and often have glandular, sticky patches on their upper parts. The leaves are up to 5 centimeters long by 3 wide, the lower ones lance-shaped to rounded, and the upper ones linear or oval.

Nodding flowers occur in a terminal cyme at the top of the stem, as well as in some of the leaf axils. Each has a hairy, often glandular calyx of fused sepals. This bell-shaped green or purplish calyx is open at the top, revealing five white, greenish, or pale pink petals. The petals have multilobed or fringed tips. The stamens and three long styles protrude from the flower's center.

Subspecies

Subspecies include:

  • Silene campanulata ssp. campanulata — Red Mountain catchfly; endemic to California;[4] designated as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act.[5]
  • Silene campanulata ssp. glandulosa — Bell catchfly, in California and Oregon.[6]
  • Silene campanulata subsp. greenei — Greene's catchfly, in California and Oregon.[7]

References
  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Silene campanulata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  2. CalFlora Database; Silene campanulata
  3. "Silene greenei (S.Watson ex B.L.Rob.) Howell". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. CalFlora: Silene campanulata ssp. campanulata
  5. California Endangered Species Act: killing or possessing this subspecies is prohibited unless permitted by the California Department of Fish and Game (California Fish and Game Code Section 2080).
  6. CalFlora: Silene campanulata ssp. glandulosa
  7. USDA:Silene campanulata subsp. greenei
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