1668 



SILENE 



and generally have small tooth-like appendages at the 

 base of the blade. The calyx is sometimes inflated like 

 a bladder, generally 10-nerved, sometimes 20-nerved: 

 ovary 1-loculed, many-ovuled; styles commonly 3: cap- 

 sule dehiscing at the apex into 6 (rarely 3j teeth or 

 short valves. There is a full botanical monograph of 

 Silene, with a key, in the Journal of the Linnean So- 

 ciety, vol. 32 (189C), by F. N. Williams, a specialist on 

 the whole family of Caryophyllaceae. The 

 mostly in Latin, and has few descriptions, 

 admits 390 good species. His revision has not been 

 closely followed below. Williams refers our common S. 

 Virginica and Pennsylvanica as well as the European 

 ;S. viscosa to the genus Melyandrum, characterized by 

 a strictly unicellular capsule with no trace of septation 

 at the base. Only a few of the known species are in 

 cultivation. 



Silenes are of easy culture. They mostly bloom in 

 summer, and a few continue well into autumn. By good 

 management the season of bloom may be continued 

 through spring and summer. Toward this end the seeds 

 of the common annual kinds should be sown in early 

 autumn, instead of spring. As a rule, the common 

 kinds prefer a sandy loam and full sunlight, but the 

 rock-garden kinds require special treatment, and other 

 suggestions for cultivation are given after the specific 

 descriptions. The most popular kinds are the pink and 

 rose annuals, S. Armeria and pendttla. Of the peren- 

 nials the most popular among the white-fld. kinds are 

 S. maritima and alpestris, while S. Virginica, Penn- 

 sylvanica and Schafta are amongst the most popular 

 kinds with colored flowers. A good horticultural review 

 of the kinds in cultivation is found in The Garden, Vol. 

 11, pp. 10-13 (1877). 



Duration annual or biennial. 

 B. Petals notched at apex. 



r. PUnitx l„ir <i ml t raitimi . . . 



vr. ri.tuls ,n.t. I-V:. II. hiqh. 



pendula 



1.. I.ilij.r sl,.'l;il-liiunj 'J. Viscosa 



iMi. Cihi.r .jhii.n.iis :i. Armeria 



BB. /'. '.i/.N . ///(" .t I, I lies 4. compacta 



1. DuruUn,, /,< r. u„,,il. 

 B. ll.nihl „ ,, ,r ni.-hes. 

 c. Sl,.,„s 1-lhl. rr few-na. 



D. t'alyj: M-iurved, inflated 

 after anthesis. 



E. Fls. rose 5. Fumilio 



EE. Pis. white C. maritima 



DD. Calyx 10-nerved, not blad- 

 der-llk<,,ftrrai,ll,rsis. 



T. Ciihi.r hrii-slfipitl 7. acauUs 



FF. Ciilii.r rhih-xhiiiied — ><. petraea 

 EE. Lvs. oblong or lanceolate. 



F. Plant velvety 9. Caucasica 



FF. Plant glandular 10. vallesia 



CC. Stems many-fid. 



D. Petals 4-lohed 11. alpestris 



DD. Petals 2-lohed. 



E. Fls. erect 12. Schafta 



EE. Fls. nodding l.'i. Pennsylvanica 



BB. Height a foot or more. 



0. Calyx inflated after anthesis .\i. inJlata 

 CC. Calyx not inflated after an- 

 thesis. 

 D. Petals laciniate or fringed.l5. stellata 

 DD. Petals not laciniate. 



E. Fls. crimson, scarlet or 

 deep red. 

 F. Apex ot petals sharply 



^-toothed '.lU. Virginica 



FP. Apex of petals various.ll. Californica 



.18. Menziesii 



SILENE 



EE. Fls. white to pink. 



F. Inflorescence leafy 

 fls. borne in forks ( 



branches 



FF. Inflorescence composea 

 of long - peduncled 



cymes 19. Douglasii 



FFF. Inflorescence denser, 



vertically spicate ...20. Scouleri 



1. pfendula, Linn. Trailing, branched annual, with 

 flesh-colored or ro.sy fls. which become pendulous when 

 their beauty is past: plant pubescent: lvs. lanceolate: 

 fls. solitary or in pairs in the axils; calyx 10-nerved, 

 not bladder-like after anthesis, but constricted at the 

 apex in fruit; petals emarginate: seeds kidney-shaped. 

 Mediterranean region. B.M. 114. — Var. mb^rrima is of- 

 fered; also varieties with single and double rose-col- 

 ored fls. R.H. 1884, p. 113. Var. compActa is offered. 

 Gt. 49, p. 555. A good bedding plant. 



2. viscdsa, Pers. Biennial, viscous-villous: lvs. un- 

 dulate : r.acemes verticillate; peduncles opposite, 1-3- 

 fld.; petals bifld. June, July. Eu., N. Asia.— Accord- 

 ing to EUwanger & Barry, var. plena grows 1 ft. high 

 and has bright rose double flowers. Use basal cuttings. 



3. Armaria, Linn. Sweet William. Catchflt. Fig. 

 2328. Annual, 1-VA ft. high, with many-fld. panicles of 

 pink, rosy or white fls. : glabrous except for the wide 

 sticky bands below the nodes at the top of plant: lvs. 

 ovate ; fls. borne in corymbose panicles ; calyx tubular- 

 club-shaped, 10-nerved; petals emarginate, appendaged. 

 Southern Europe.— Var. &lba, Hort., is also popular. 



4. comp&cta, Fisch. Much like S. Armeria but bien- 

 nial, with more compact inflorescence, longer fls., pet- 

 als acute and entire at apex, and a more easterly geo- 

 graphical range. E. Eu., Asia Minor. L. B.C. 17:1638. 

 — S. compacta of some tradesmen is likely to be a com- 

 pact-growing variety of ^S. pendula. 



5. PumiUo, Wulf. Pigmy Catchfly. Dwarf peren- 

 nial, with linear lvs. and solitary, rose-colored fls.: 

 height a few inches: calyx faintly 20-nerved, inflated 

 after anthesis, wholly green or wholly "chocolate-crim- 

 son"; petals "undivided," according to Williams, but 

 prettily wavy-lobed in Gn. 11:55. Austrian Alps.— A 

 rare and choice plant. Niven says it has hard woody 

 roots which are easily damaged in transit, and there- 

 fore those who wish the species should secure seeds. 

 Woolson advises a sunny position and rich sandy soil. 



6. maritima, With. Seaside Catchfly. Trailing 

 perennial, with numerous white fls. borne on few-fld. 

 stems. It has larger fls. than S. inflata, with fewer 

 fls. on a stem, and the petals not so deeply cut at the 

 apex, and 2 small scales at the base of each petal: lvs. 

 various: calyx 20-nerved, inflated after anthesis. Eu. 

 Gn. 57, p. 372.— The seaside plants are said to be more 

 glaucous than those from the Alps. Var. rbsea, Niven, 

 is said to have a less rambling habit and rose-colored 

 fls. Origin unknown. This desirable form seems un- 

 known in America. Var. pl^na, Hort., has fewer fls. 

 than the type but they are much larger, extremely 

 double and remain in bloom longer. Niven says, "This 

 variety makes a lovely rock plant, and ought always to 

 be placed in such a position that its stems, borne down 

 by the weight of blossoms, may hang over the ledge of a 

 rock; otherwise, if planted in a border, they get be- 

 sprinkled with soil after every shower of rain." Niven 

 adds that this variety produces no seed and is more 

 easilv propagated by cuttings than by division. Gn. 11, 

 p. 12; 57, p. 126. 



7. acadlis, Linn. Cushion Pink. Moss Campion. 

 JInss-like, tufted perennial about 2 in. high, with red- 

 dish purple fls. about }4 in. across, borne one on a stem. 

 Hiiotstock much branched: branches short, covered with 

 reniiiins of old lvs. and crowned by dense, spreading 

 clusters of short, green linear lvs.. from the center of 

 which arise the fl. -stalks: calyx campanulate, glabrous; 

 teeth obtuse; petals obovate, slightly notched, with a 

 small scale at the base of the blade. May-Aug. L.B.C. 

 6:568. — According to Niven, this species is readily in- 

 creased by division or by seeds, which it produces spar- 

 ingly. The fls. have a tendency to become dioecious. 

 There is a white variety with somewhat smaller fls. 



