SILENE 



8. petrSea, Walldst. & Kit. Tufted subshrub, 4 in. 

 high: Ivs. linear: fls. small, solitary; calyx club-.sliaped; 

 petals bifid, with a bifid appendage, and ciliate on the 

 claw. Caucasus. -Fls. white, according to J. Woodward 

 Manning. 



9. CaucAsica, Boiss. This and 5f. Vallesia are peren- 

 nial, alpine, white-fld. plants 4-5 in. high, with the 

 flowering stems laterally ascending from a terminal 

 rosette of Ivs. : the stems are 

 usually 1-fld., sometimes 2-3- 

 fld.: Ivs. oblong or lanceolate: 

 •calyx 10-nerved, not inflated 

 after anthesis. Caucasus. For 

 •distinctions from S. Vallesia, 

 see that species. 



10. vallesia, Linn. Swiss 

 Catchfly. a very rare 

 plant found in the highest and 

 most sterile parts of the Alps, 

 ■differing from -S. Caucasica in 

 being glandular, rather than 

 velvety, the stem-ivs. long, the 

 fls. long-peduncled and the 

 calyx more widely inflated. 



11. alp6stris, Jacq. Alpine 

 Catchfly. Perennial white- 

 fld. plant 6 in. high, the fls. 

 borne in panicles: stems 

 tufted, dichotomous : fls. in 

 corymbose panicles; calyx 

 short, top-shaped to bell- 

 shaped, 10-nerved, not enlarged 

 after anthesis; petals 4-lobed 

 at apes and provided with 2 

 teeth at the base of each petal 

 in the throat: seed cristate-cili- 

 ate on the margin. Eastern Eu. 

 — It forms a dense mass of un- 

 derground stems and is easily 

 prop, by division or seeds. One 

 of the best. 



12. ScMfta, G. Gmel. Au- 

 tumn Catchfly. Woody- 

 rooted perennial 6 in. high, 

 with rosy fls. borne on stems 

 which arise laterally from the 2328. 

 rosettes of Ivs.: Ivs. obovate: Silene Armeria (X J^). 

 fls erect; calyx 10-nerved, not 



inflated after anthesis; petals wedge-shaped, notched, 

 bearing 2 scales at the base in the throat. June-Oct. 

 Caucasus. B.R. 32:20 (fls. "purple"). F.S. 3, p. 286 C. 



13. PennsylvAnica, Michx. Wild Pink. Perennial, 

 6-9 in. high, from a strong taproot and with rose or 

 white fls. in small, dense terminal cymes, viscid-pubes- 

 cent: Ivs. mostly at the base, spatulate or oblanceolate, 

 the 2 or 3 pairs of stem-lvs. much shorter and lanceo- 

 late : petals appendaged, 2-lobed, the lobes dentate. 

 April, May. Eastern U. S. B.R. 3:247. L.B.C. 1:41 (as 

 S. ijicarwa^a). — Handsome. 



14. infiata, Sm. (S. Cucubalus, Wibel). Bladder 

 Campion. Bladder Catchfly. Cow Bell. White 

 Ben. Perennial, 2-3 ft. high, with many-fld. panicles of 

 white, drooping fls. about % in. across: plant branched, 

 glabrous, glaucous or downy: Ivs. ovate, obovate or ob- 

 long: calyx 20-nerved, inflated after anthesis; petals 

 deeply cleft. Eu., N. Africa, Himalayas. — This species 

 is not advertised in America but is probably cult, here, 

 possibly as S. maritima, of which it is considered by 

 some a variety. S. inflata is said to be essentially erect 

 instead of procumbent and the petals more deeply cleft. 

 The young shoots are said to be eaten by the poor folk 

 of England as a substitute for asparagus; they taste 

 something like green peas. 



15. stell^ta, Ait. Starry Campion. Readily told by 

 its fringed white and nodding fls. and Ivs. in 4's. Per- 

 ennial, 2-3 ft. high: Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, 2-3 in. long: 

 fls. in an open panicle; calyx inflated; petals laciniate, 

 unappendaged. Woods, Mass. to Neb., south Ga. to 

 Tex. B.M. 1107. 



16. Virginica, Linn. Fire Pink. Fig. 2329. Perennial, 

 1-2 ft. high, with large crimson or scarlet fls., viscid- 



SILPHIUM 



1669 



pubescent: stem unbranched : Ivs. spatulate or oblanceo- 

 late: fls. 1 in. or more across, loosely cymose, nodding 

 or rertexed after anthesis ; petals broadly lanceolate, 2- 

 toothed at apex. N. Y. to Minn., south Ga. to Ark. 

 B.M. 3342. Gu. 22, p. 375. 



17. Calif6rnica, Durand. Perennial, 4 in. to 4 ft. high, 

 procumbent or suberect, with large, deep red, scattered 

 fls. and a taproot descending 2-3 ft. : stems several, 

 leafy: Ivs. lanceolate or ovate-elliptic: fls. 1 in. or more 

 broad; petals variously cleft, most commonly with 2 

 broad lobes, flanked by 2 narrower ones, appendaged. 

 Coast Range. — Offered by western collectors in 1881, 

 but probably not in cult., though presumably a very 

 distinct and desirable plant. This species seems to have 

 been overlooked by Williams. 



18. M^nziesii, Hook. Perennial: stems weak, dichot- 

 omously branched, 6-12 in. or more high: Ivs. ovate- 

 lanceolate: fls. white, "very small for the genus" (not 

 ordinarily exceeding 6-8 lines in diam.), borne in the 

 forks of the branches and forming a leafy inflorescence; 

 petals white, 2-cleft, commonly but not always unap- 

 pendaged. Rocky Mts. and Pacific slope. — Offered in 

 1881 by western collectors but probably not cultivated. 



19. Douglasii, Hook. Perennial, 1 ft. or more high, 

 with white or pink fls. borne mostly in long-peduncled, 

 3-fld. cymes: stems very slender, decumbent: Ivs. re- 

 mote, linear, 2-3 in. long; petals 2-lobed, appendaged. 

 June-Sept. — A common and polymorphous species in 

 western N. Amer. Robinson describes 6 botanical va- 

 rieties with no important floral differences. S. Douglasii 

 is still found in one eastern catalogue. Var. Macotlnii, 

 Robinson, was offered in 1881 under its synonym /S. 

 Lyalli, Wats. 



20. Scoiileri, Hook. Perennial, lK-2% ft. high, with 

 white or purplish fls.: root stout: stems unbranched: 

 Ivs. narrowly oblanceolate: inflorescence 6-8 in. long, 

 verticillately spicate: petals bifid, appendaged. Moun- 

 tains of Oregon and north. — Offered in 1881 by western 

 collectors. 



S. orientdKs, Mill., is an old name which is not accounted for 

 by Williams, DeCandolle, Boisser, Nicholson, Mottet or Voss. 

 According to Thorbiirn & Co., it is a hardy perennial, 2 ft. high, 

 with rose-colored lis., which may be readily grown from seed 

 in any light, loamy soil. yI. M. 



SILK COTTON TREE. See Bomhax and Pachira. 



SILK FLOWER. Albizzia. 



SILK OAK. Grevillea robusta. 



SILK TREE. Albizzia Julibrissin. 



SILK VINE. Periploca Grceca. 



SILKWEED. Asclepias. 



SiLFHITJM (from the Greek name of an umbelliferous 

 plant of northern Africa). Conipdsita. Rosin-weed. 

 A genus of 11 species of tall -growing hardy perennial 

 herbs native of the U. S., with somewhat coarse leaves 

 and rather large, sunflower-like heads of flowers which 

 are yellow, except in one species : heads many-fld. : 

 involucre of thick, somewhat foliaceous bracts: ray-fls. 

 or at least their ovaries in more than 1 series, fertile, 

 and with elongated exserted deciduous ligules: akenes 

 much flattened, falling free or only with the subtending 

 bract. Sily)hiums are of easy culture in any good soil. 

 They require full sunlight and are propagated by divi- 

 sion or seed. 



A. Foliage much cut. 



laciniatum, Linn. Compass Plant. Stem about 6 ft. 

 higli, leafy at the base, much less so above: Ivs. 1 ft. 

 long or more, once or twice pinnately parted, the lobes 

 oblong or lanceolate: fl. -heads several, sessile or short- 

 peduncled, 2-5 in. across ; rays 20-30. July-Sept. 

 Western prairies. B.B. 3:408. 



aa. Foliage not cut. 



B. Stem-lvs. small. 



terebinthin^ceum, Jacq. Prairie Dock. Stem about 



6 ft. high: Ivs. nearly all basal, usually 1 ft. long, ovate, 



cordate, dentate: fl. -heads lK-3 in. across; rays 12-20. 



July-Sept. Western prairies. B.B. 3:408. 



