CARYOPHYLLACEAE 
PINK FAMILY 
STARRY CAMPION 
Silene stellata (L.) Ait. f. 
The Starry Campion is another Catchfly but in this 
case it is the calyx rather than a portion of the stem that 
is glutinous. Peculiar markings under the bark of the 
root evidently suggested the skin 
of a snake to the members of \) 
certain Indian tribes, who used ; 
y 
the plant as an antidote for snake Se Sa 
bite. ; /3 
This perennial dwells in We () 
woods and especially wooded ae LS . G J, 
slopes from Minnesota to 
Arkansas and east to Mass- 
achusetts, and blooms from 
June to August. It is 
common in such locations 
practically throughout 
Illinois. 
The yellowish green 
leaves, fringed at the mar- 
gins with very fine hairs, 
are arranged in whorls 
of 4 except near the top 
and sometimes at the 
base, where they are in 
pairs. The 2-4-foot stem 
is densely covered with very short hairs and is enlarged con- 
spicuously at each whorl of leaves. 
The common name comes from the beautiful white flowers, 
the 5 petals of which are deeply fringed at the base and are 
crownless. They open in the evening and close when the sun 
becomes bright the next day. The bell-shaped, 5-toothed calyx 
is inflated like a bladder and often stained reddish. The 10 
stamens extend well beyond the petals; the pistil consists of an 
ovary and 3 styles. The fruit is a many-seeded pod about the 
length of the calyx, opening by 6 teeth at the end. 
‘‘Small herbs have grace, great weeds do grow apace :” 
And since, methinks, I would not grow so fast, 
Because sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste. 
King Richard III—SHAKESPEARE 
87 
