S I L 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



S I L 



575 



at first sight distinguished from the first species, by its floscu- 

 lar-like flowers, and dichotomous diffused branches. Pro- 

 bably it is the only triandrous plant in the Syngenesia class. 

 Native of Peru, where it is an annual plant, flowering in 

 June and July. It soon ripens its seeds, and may be propa- 

 gated by them or by cuttings. 



Silene ; a genus of the class DecandrLa, order Trigynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one-leaved, ven- 

 tricose, five-toothed, permanent. Corolla: petals five; claws 

 narrow, length of the calix, margined ; border flat, obtuse, 

 often bifid ; nectary composed of two toothlets in the neck 

 of each petal, forming a crown at the throat. Stamina: fila- 

 inenta ten, awl-shaped, five alternately inserted into the claws 

 of the petals, and later than the other five ; antheree oblong. 

 Pistil: germen cylindrical ; styles three, simple, longer than 

 the stamina; stigmas bent contrary to the sun's apparent 

 motion. Pericarp : capsule cylindrical, covered, one cr 

 three celled, opening at top into five or six parts. Seeds : 

 very many, kidney-form. Observe. This genus differs from 

 Cucubalus in the neclareous c-rown of the corolla. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Calix: one-leafed, vcntricose. Petals: 

 five, with claws crowned at the thrat. Capsule: three-celled. 



The species are, 



* Flowers solitary, lateral. 



1. Silene Anglica ; English Catchfly. Hirsute, viscid: 

 petals emarginate ; flowers lateral, erect, alternate ; lower 

 fruits divaricate, reflexed. Root annual, fibrous; stem branch- 

 ed, spreading, flexuose, round, leafy, swelling above eack 

 joint, about a foot high ; branches somewhat spiked, erect. 

 Native of England and France, in sandy fields, flowering in 

 June and July. Found about Colchester and Bocking in 

 Essex; Canterbury in Kent; near Devil's Ditch in Cambridge- 

 shire; at Lakenham and Cossey near Norwich; about Coombe 

 wood in Surry; in the corn-fields near Newport in the Isle of 

 Wight; and near Dundee, St. Andrew's, and Perth, in Scot- 

 land. Permit the seeds to scatter, and the plants will come 

 up without further care. 



2. Silene Lusitanica; Portugal Catchfly. Hirsute: petals 

 toothed, undivided; flowers erect; fruits divaricate, reflexed, 

 alternate. Native of Portugal and Barbary. Sow the seeds 

 of this, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth species, upon a warm 

 border in autumn. 



3. Silene Quinquevulnera; Variegated Catchfly. Hirsute: 

 petals roundish, quite entire; flowers lateral, alternate, erect, 

 as well as the fruit. The deep red spot in the centre of the 

 petals gave rise to the trivial name. This species has been 

 long cultivated in our English gardens under the name of 

 Dwarf Lychnis, and may frequently be found naturalized on 

 "-japs of rubbish. It continues in flower from June to the 



id of August, and produces great plenty of seeds, which were 

 rmerly sown in drills on the edges of borders, with several 

 >erlow annual plants. It is a pretty plant, and, according 

 to Hudson, has been found growing in sandy fields about 

 Wrotham in Kent. Native of the south of Europe, Siberia, 

 and Barbary. Sow the seeds thin, upon a border of light 

 earth in autumn ; and in the spring, thin the plants to the 

 distance of four inches, and keep them clean from weeds. 

 If some seeds be sown in the spring, they will flower in July; 

 "therwise they flower in May and June. 



4. Silene Ciliata; Fringed Catcltfy. Petals two-parted, 

 >tuse; calices club-shaped, pubescent, ciliate at the tip, 

 Iternate, erect. Root simple, perpendicular, filiform ; stems 



somewhat branched, several, ascending, a finger's length, 

 round, pubescent. Native of Candia. 



5. Silene Sericea; Silky Silene. Petals bifid; flowers 



I opposite; peduncles erect; leaves oblong, spatulate, silky, 

 'VOL. II. 114. 



Ifs 



5 



hoary; root white, annual, round, not very fibrous. Native 

 of Piedmont, on the sandy const. 



6. Silene Nocturna ; Spiked Night-flowering CalcJifltj. 

 Flowers in spikes, alternate, directed one way, sessile; petals 

 bifid. It flowers in July. Native of France and Spain. 



7. Silene Gallica; French Catchfly. Flowers subspiked. 

 alternate, directed oneway; petals undivided; fruits erect. 

 Annual. Native of France and Switzerland. 



8. Silene Cerastoides. Hirsute: petals emarginate ; fruc- 

 tifications erect ; calices subsessile, somewhat hairy. Native 

 of the south of Europe. 



'"'Flowers lateral, in clusters. 



9. Silene Mutabilis ; Changeable Catchfly. Petals bifid ; 

 calices angular, peduncled ; leaves lanceolate, linear. Annual. 

 Native of the south of Europe. 



10. Silene Clilorantha; Pale-flowered Catchfly. Petals 

 linear, bifid; flowers lateral, directed one way, drooping; 

 root-leaves rugged at the edge; root perennial. It is known 

 by the leaves and stems being smooth, and not viscid ; the 

 petals narrow, and herbaceous.- -Native of Germany. 



11. Silene Nutans; Nottingham Catchfly. Flowers pani- 

 cled, directed one way, drooping; petals two-parted, with 

 linear, segments; leaves lanceolate, pubescent. Root some- 

 what woody, perennial ; stems several, herbaceous, erect, a 

 foot or more in height, downy; flowers white, expanding in 

 the evening. It flowers in J-une and July. Native of several 

 parts of Europe, chiefly on limestone rocks ; also of Barbary, 

 ou hills about Algiers. It was first observed at Nottingham 

 castle, but has been found on rocks in Dovedale, Derbyshire; 

 about Knaresborough in Yorkshire; near Gloddaeth in Car- 

 narvonshire, and near North Queen's Ferry, in Scotland. 



12. Silene Amoena. Petals bifid ; coronet subcoadunate ; 

 flowers directed oneway; peduncles opposite, three-flowered ; 

 branches alternate ; stems diffused, smoothish, ascending. 

 Perennial. Native of Tartary. 



13. Silene Paradoxa; Dover Catchfly. Flowers panicled, 

 directed one way, drooping ; petals obcordate, emarginate ; 

 leaves linear-lanceolate, smooth. Native of Italy ; and found 

 on Dover cliffs, whence the name. 



14. Silene Maritima; Sea Campion or Catchfly. Flowers 

 mostly solitary, terminating ; petals bifid, crowned ; calices 

 smooth, netted, veined. Stems decumbent, leafy, with the 

 extremities only growing upright, and terminating in a hand- 

 some white flower. The leaves vary much in breadth. There 

 is a variety with red flowers. Native of Norway, Gothland, 

 and Britain. Common on many of our coasts ; near South- 

 wold in Suffolk; Wells in Norfolk; and upon the shores of 

 Sussex, and greatest part of the western coast. It flowers in 

 August and September. 



15. Silene Fruticosa; Shrubby Catchfly. Petals bifid: 

 stem shrubby; leaves broad-lanceolate; panicle trichotomous. 

 It flowers in June and July. Native of Sicily and Germany. 

 This may be increased by slips planted in a shady border ; 

 and if the plants be set in a warm dry border, they will live 

 several years without shelter, but in moist ground they fre- 

 quently rot in winter. It also rises easily from seeds. 



16. Silene Bupleuroides; Hare's-ear-like Catchfly. Petals 

 bifid; flowers peduncled, opposite, shorter than thebracte; 

 leaves lanceolate, acute, smooth. Root perennial or bien- 

 nial. Native of Persia and Mount Atlas. As the seeds do 

 not ripen here, it is difficult to propagate this species. The 

 only way is, to slip off the heads in June, and plant them under 

 a glass; they will take root, if shaded from the sun and duly 

 watered. 



17. Silene Longiflora; Long-lowered Catchfly. Petals 

 bifid; flowers panicled, erect; peduncles opposite, longer 



7 G 



