sweet William catchfly
(Silene armeria)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | NNA - Not applicable SNA - Not applicable |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Sweet William catchfly is a 4″ to 27″ but usually 8″ to 16″ tall, erect, annual forb that rises from a slender taproot. When young the plant forms a basal rosette of leaves. Later it sends up flowering stems. The stems are erect and unbranched below the inflorescence. They are hairless and are more or less covered with a whitish, waxy coating (glaucous). They sometimes have sticky areas below the upper nodes. Basal leaves are broad, lance-shaped to spatula-shaped, ¾″ to 2″ long, and hairless. They wither before the plants flower. Stem leaves are opposite, lance-shaped to elliptic, ⅜″ to 2⅓″ long, and from less than ¼″ to 1″ wide. They taper gradually to a pointed tip with straight sides along the tip. They are attached to the stem without a leaf stalk and are more or less clasping. They are hairless and more or less glaucous. The margins are untoothed. The inflorescence is a dense, head-like or branched cluster of flowers. Each cluster is subtended by a pair of ⅓″ long or less lance-shaped bracts. Flowers are about ½″ wide when fully open, and are on a short, upright stalk. The sepals are tinged purple and fused at the base into a tube (calyx) terminating in 5 short, erect lobes. The calyx tube is ½″ to ⅔″ long, and about ⅛″ wide, and constricted at the base with a navel-like indentation. It is club-shaped, gradually widening toward the apex. It has 10 major veins that are raised on the surface (prominent), forming ridges. The 5 petals are pink, unlobed, horizontally spreading, with a stalk-like narrow base (claw). There are 10 stamens that are slightly longer than the petals and 3, sometimes 4, styles, also longer than the petals. The fruit is a 3-chambered capsule with 6 or 8 spreading teeth at the top. |
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Height |
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4″ to 27″ but usually 8″ to 16″ |
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Flower Color |
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Pink or lavender |
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Similar Species |
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| The long, narrow, purple-tinged calyx and dense clusters of pink flowers distinguishes this plant from other Silene species. | ||
Habitat |
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Disturbed sites, especially near human habitation. Partial shade. |
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Biology |
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Flowering |
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June to July |
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Use |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 5/22/2012 | ||||
Nativity |
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Native to Europe and Turkey. Introduced, widely cultivated, and naturalized in North America. |
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Occurrence |
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Taxonomy |
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| Kingdom | Plantae (green algae and land plants) | ||
| Subkingdom | Viridiplantae (green plants) | ||
| Infrakingdom | Streptophyta (land plants and green algae) | ||
| Superdivision | Embryophyta (land plants) | ||
| Division | Tracheophyta (vascular plants) | ||
| Subdivision | Spermatophytina (seed plants) | ||
| Class | Magnoliopsida (flowering plants) | ||
| Subclass | Caryophyllidae | ||
| Superorder | Caryophyllanae | ||
Order |
Caryophyllales (pinks, cactuses, and allies) | ||
Family |
Caryophyllaceae (pink) | ||
| Subfamily | Caryophylloideae | ||
| Tribe | Sileneae | ||
Genus |
Silene (catchfly) | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Atocion armeria |
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Common Names |
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sweet William catchfly sweet-William catchfly sweet William silene |
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Glossary
Bract
Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.
Calyx
The flower cup. May be the group of outer floral leaves (sepals) collectively, or a tube with lobes.
Clasping
Describing a leaf that wholly or partly surrounds the stem but does not fuse at the base.
Claw
A stalk-like narrowed base of some petals and sepals.
Glaucous
Pale green or bluish gray due to a whitish, powdery or waxy film, as on a plum or a grape.
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About
Published on Aug 27, 2012 A white-form female of Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias erate poliographus, family Pieridae) visiting pink flowers of the Sweet William Catchfly (Silene armeria, family Caryophyllaceae) for nectar. Late-June 2012 in Japan. vid response 日本語による詳細はブログをご覧ください。 |
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