1668 



SILENE 



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 t3 {rarely '3) teeth or 

 short valves. There is a full botanical monograph of 

 Sileue, with a key, in the .Journal of the Linnean So- 

 ciety, vol. '32 (1896), by F. N. Williams, a specialist on 

 the whole family of Caryophyllacefe. The account is 

 mostly in Latin, and has few descriptions. Williams 

 admits H90 good species. His revision has not been 

 closely followed below. WiUianis refers our common .S'. 

 Virglnica ■diid Peiiii.sijh.'a)tira as well as the European 

 ^'. I'isco.'^a to tlie tceuus Melyandrum, characterized by 

 a strictly unicelbilar capsule with no trace of septatiuu 

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

 cultivation. 



yilenes are of easy t-ulture. 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 sunmier. Toward this end the seeds 

 of the common annual kinds should be sown in etirly 

 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. Arnwri't- and penduJa. Of the peren- 

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

 *S'. utariiihui and al pes iris, ^AnXa S. Virgiuica , Pen)}- 

 siilnui'ira and Scluiffa are amongst the most popular 

 kinds with colored Howers. A good horticultural review 

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

 11. pp. 10-b'.! (18771. 



INDEX. 



acaulis, 7. inflata, 14. Pumilio, :>. 



alba, 3. Ly;dli, lit. rosea, 6. 



;t]pestris, 11. M.-u-omiii, lil. i-aberrima, 1. 



Arnieriii, :-l. maritini;i, Ij. Sc-hat'ta, VI. 



Californira. 17. Menziesii, IS. ycouleri, "Jn. 



Caut';isica, 9. peiidula. 1. stellata, 15, 



compacta, 1, 4. Peimsylvaniea, 13. vallesia, 111. 



Cucubali/s. 14. petr:ea, 8, Vir<:inica, IG. 



Douglasli, 10. plena, "J, 6. viscosa, -. 



A. Duration annual or hicunlaJ. 

 B. Peials liotched at apex. 



r. Plants low and trailing 1. pendula 



cc. Plants erevt, 1-1% ft, high. 



D. Calyx sttcky-hairi/ 2. viscosa 



DD. Calyx glabrous 'A. Armeria 



BB. Petals entire at apex 4. compacta 



AA. DuratiiDi perennial. 

 B. Height a few inches. 

 C. Stems 1-fld. or feir-fhl. 



D. Calyx 20-ni'rved, infhil.'d 

 after antltesls. 



E. Fls. rose .'. Pumilio 



EE. Fls. white tj. maritima 



DD. Calyx 10-nerred, not blad- 

 der-like after anthcsis. 

 E. I^vs. linear. 



F. Calyx bell-shaped 7. acaulis 



FP. Calyx club-shaped 8. petraea 



EE. IjVs. oblong or lanceolate. 



F. Plant velvety fb Caucasica 



FF. Plant glandular 10. vallesia 



CC. Stews many-fid. 



D. Petals 4-lobed 11. alpestris 



DD. Pet(tls L'-lobed. 



E. Fls. rrecf 12. Schafta 



EE. Fls. nodding i.'!. Pennsylvanica 



BE. Height a foot or more. 



C. Calyx inflated afferanthesis.U. inllata 

 CC. Calyx not inflated, after an- 

 thesis. 

 D. Petals laciniate or fringed.ir). stellata 

 DD. Petals not laeiniaU-. 



E. Fls. crimson, searlet or 

 deep red. 

 F. Apex of petals sharply 



^-toothed '.n;. Virglnica 



FF. Apex of petals various. il. Californica 



EE. Fls. u-hife to pink. 



V. Inflorescence le afy: 

 fls. borne in. forks of 



branche.-i 18. Menziesii 



FF. Inflorescence composed 

 of long- peduncled 



cymes 19. Douglasii 



FFF. Inflorescence denser, 



vertically spicafc ...20. Scouleri 



1. p6ndula, Linn. Trailing, branched annual, with 

 desh-colored or rosy lis. which become pendulous when 

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

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

 not Ijladder-like after anthesis, but constricted at the 

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

 Mediterranean region. B.M. 114. — Var. ruberrima is of- 

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

 ored tls. R.H. 1884, p. 11.3. Var. compacta is otfered. 

 (Tt. 49, p. 555. A good bedding plant. 



2. visodsa, Pers. Biennial, viscous-villous: Ivs. un- 

 dulate : racemes verticillate; peduncles opposite, \-3- 

 tld.; petals bifid. June, July. Eu., N. Asia. — Accord- 

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

 and has bright rose double flowers. Use basal cutting.s. 



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

 2:!28. Annual, 1-1?^ ft. high, with many-fid. panicles of 

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

 sticky bauds below the nodes at the top of plant: Iv.s. 

 ovate: fis. borne in corymbose panicles; calyx tubular- 

 ciul>-shaped, 10-nerved; petals emarginate, appeiidaged. 

 Southern Europe. — Var. Alba, Hort., is also popular. 



4. compdcta, Pisch. Much like 8. Armeria but bien- 

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

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

 graphical range. E. Eu., Asia Minor. L.B.C. 17:1(JHS. 

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

 pact-growing variety of S. pendula. 



5. Pumilio, Wulf. Pjhmt Catchfly. Dwarf peren- 

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

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

 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 fis. borne on few-fld. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 fls. Origin unknown. This desiral)le form seems un- 

 known in America. Var. pI6na, Hort., has fewer fls. 

 than the type but they are nmch 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 

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

 p. 12; 57, p. 126. 



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

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

 dish purple fis. about ^ in. across, borne one on a stem. 

 Rootstock much branched: branches short, covered with 

 remains of old Ivs. and crowned by dense, spreading 

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

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

 teeth obtuse; petals obovate, slightlv notched, with a 

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

 <»:5()8. — 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. 



