SILENE. 



lini colore; Barrel. Ic. t. 1027. f. i.) — Flowers fpiked, 

 alternate, nearly feffile, direifted one way. Petals deeply 

 cloven. Leaves fpatulate, hairy. — Native of Spain, the 

 fouth of France, vineyards about Conftantinople, and cul- 

 tivated ground in Greece ; alfo of Virginia ; flowering in 

 June and July. An annual, upright, (lightly branched 

 fpecies ; the leaves which accompany the Jloivers narrow, 

 and much fmaller than the reft. Petals fmall, pale pink, or 

 white with a green external tinge, minutely crowned. Cap- 

 fule ovate, ftalked. The Jloiuers are faid to expand at 

 night only. 



S. pendula. Pendulous Catchfly. Linn. Sp. PI. 599. 

 WiUd. n.-27. Ait. n. 37. Prodr. Fl. Grsec. n. 979. 

 Curt. Mag. t. 114. (Vifcago hirta ficula, lychnidis aqua- 

 ticse facie, fupina ; Dill. Elth. 421. t. 312.) — Flowers 

 racemoie. Calvx of the fruit pendulous, inflated, with ten 

 rough ribs. Stem decumbent. — Native of Italy, Sicily, 

 Crete, and Cyprus, flowering in the fpring. Every bank 

 about Rome is decorated with this elegant plant in the 

 fpring. Nothing is better calculated for the decoration of 

 rock-work, or dry parterres, than this hardy annual, whufe 

 purplifh^^mj fpread in every direftion, and are copioufly 

 adorned with large yia^.f.o'wers, with a membranous, violet- 

 ribbed, inflated calyx. The feeds fcatter themfelves with- 

 out any trouble. 



S. vefpertina. Pink Evening Catchfly. Retz. Obf 

 fafc. 3. 31. Willd. n. 24. Ait. n. 35. Curt. Mag. 

 t. 677. Sm. Fl. Grxc. Sibth. t. 409, unpublifhed. (S. 

 bipartita ; Desfont. Atlant. v. i. 352. t. 100. S. ciliata ; 

 Willd. n. 4, excluding the fynonym. Lychnis marina hir- 

 futa purpurea, leucoji folio; Barrel. Ic. t. loio.) — Petals 

 with two deep rounded lobes, and a Iharp cloven crell. 



Calyx downy. Leaves fpatulate. Stems difFufe Found 



on the fea-fliores of Sicily, Barbary, Crete, Zante, and 

 Greece, not uncommon. It has been known about twenty 

 years in our gardens, as a hardy annual, flowering in fum- 

 mer. Linnsus had fpecimens, but never determined the 

 fpecies. The Jlems bear riumerous Ipatulate leaves. The 

 ^ayNerrngbyanches are naked below, each terminating in a 

 fimple clujler of eight or ten handfome brafteated pink 

 flonuers, all drooping one way, with a reddifh club-fiiaped 

 calyx. The pubefcence, efpecially of the calyx, is more 

 flofe and foft than in S. pendula, though more long and 

 ihaggy in fome fpecimens than others. The Jtevi is very 

 rarely once forked, being ufually altogether racemofe. 



S. difcohr. Pale Spiked Catchfly. Prodr. Fl. Grxc. 

 n. 981. Fl. Grsc. t. 410, unpubhlhed. — Petals with two 

 deep narrow fegments, and a notched creft. CrJyx villous. 

 Leaves obovate. Stem diffufe. — Gathered by Dr. Sib- 

 thorp, in the ifle of Cyprus. The root is annual, long. 

 Stems fpreading, fcarcely a fpan in length, not forked, 

 though molUy once divided, round, leafy, reddifli, rough, 

 like the reft of the herbage, with long fpreading hairs. 

 Leaves thick and broad, rather more than'an inch in length ; 

 the lower ones tapering at the bafe. Flowers fix or eight 

 in each fpike, erect, on (hort partial ftalks. Calyx rather 

 flender, hardly an inch long, with ten red hairy ribs. Limb 

 of each petal nearly as long as the claw ; pale red on the 

 upper fide ; light green, with darker veins, beneath ; creft 

 white, divaricated, double-toothed. 



S. thymifolia. Thyme-leaved Catchfly. Prodr. Fl. 



Gr^c. n. 982. Fl. Grrec. t. 411, unpnbhflied Petals 



with two deep narrow fegments, and a notched creft. Calyx 

 hairy, glutinous. Stems procumbent, woody, much 

 branched. Found by Dr. Sibthorp on the fandy (hores of 

 Caria and the ifle of Cyprus. Root perennial. Stems a foot 

 or two in length, widely fpreading, repeatedly branched, 



copioufly jointed, round, hairy, fending up feveral terminal, 

 afcending, fimple, leafy, hairy, and rather vifcid, flowering 

 branches, from three to fix inches long. Leaves obovate, 

 acute, rough, about half an inch long, with axillary tufts 

 of ftill fmaller ones. Flowers racemofe, three or four at the 

 top of each branch, ereft, white ; the back of the petalt 

 greenifh. Calyx an inch long, hairy, pale green, with 

 pink dots. 



S. cerajloides. Ceraftium-leaved Catchfly. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 596. Willd. n. 8. Ait. n. 20. Fl. Grsec. t. 412, 

 unpubhftied. (Vifcago ceratii fohis, vafculis eredlis feffi- 

 libus J Dill. Elth. 416. t. 309. f. 397.) — Hairy. Petals 

 cloven ; creft divided, with a pair of teeth at the bafe. 

 Stem much branched, fpreading, iomewhat forked. Leaves 

 linear-lanceolate. — Native of the fouth of Europe, and of 

 Afia Minor. A hardy annual, flowering in fummer, about 

 a fpan high. Lea's:s narrow, acute, green, very hairy, an 

 inch or inch and half long. Flozvers role-coloured, fpiked, 

 not quite feffile. Calyx very hairy, half an inch long, 

 white, with live green ribs. Floral leaves the length of the 

 calyx. Capfule neaily globofe, ftalkcd, with five teeth. 

 Seeds rugged, black. 



S. dichotoma. Forked Long-branched Catchfly. Ehrh. 

 Beitr. V. 7. 143. PI. Seleft. n. 65. Willd. n. 23. Fl. 

 Crsc. t. 413, unpubliflied. (S. trinervis ; Soland. ia 

 Ruflell's Aleppo, ed. 2. 252.) — Petals in two deep narrow 

 fegments, with fcarcely any crown. Stem forked, race- 

 mofe, villous as well as the leaves. — Native of Hungary and 

 the Levant. Dr. Sibthorp met with it in Crete, and about 

 the Bithynian Olympus. We believe this fpecies was 

 raifed, about 25 years ago, in many gardens about London, 

 from feeds fent by the late Mr. Davall, fo that it is entitled 

 to a place in the Hortus Kewenjls. Root biennial, tapering, 

 as thick as a common radifh. Stems feveral, afcending, 

 from one to two feet high, round, Ihaggy with long fpread- 

 ing hairs, once or twice forked, with an intermediate, 

 nearly feffile, flower, and then extended into long, fimple, 

 Ipiked or racemofe branches, each bearing five or fix dillant 

 white fioivers, whofe petals are narrow, with only occafional 

 rudiments of a creft. Calyx with ten green ribs. Anthers 

 green. Seeds red-brown. The leaves are chiefly radical, 

 and very numerous, compofing a denfe, fliaggy, hoary, and 

 fomewhat glaucous, tuft ; each leaf two inches long, and 

 nearly one broad, obovate, bluntly pointed, tapering down 

 into a broad footflalk. 



S. divarkata. Forked Spreading-branched Catchfly. 

 Sm. Prodr. Fl. Grsec. n. 985. Fl. Grjec. t. 414, unpub- 

 liflied. — Petals in two deep rounded lobes, with a cloven 

 creft. Stem forked, divaricated, racemofe. Leaves all 

 lanceolate, hairy, acute. Difcovered by Dr. Sibthorp on 

 the coall of Afia Minor. In fize and habit this bears fome 

 affinity to the laft, but is more leafy, and the leaves are 

 longer, tapering at each end, undulated, of a darker green, 

 rough with fliorter hairs, not ftiaggy. The flowering 

 branches fpread at almoft right angles. The fioiwers are 

 white, but with much broader and rour«ler petals, each 

 petal bearing a rounded cloven creit. 



Seft. 2. Stem forked, ivith pamcled branches. 



S. injlata. Common Bladder Campion or Catchfly. 

 Fl. Brit. n. 5. Prodr. Fl. Grsec. n. 986. Ait. n. I. 

 (Cucubalus Behen; Linn. Sp. PI. 591. Willd. Sp. PI. 

 V. 2. 684. Engl. Bot. t. 164. Fl. Dan. t. 914. Behen 

 album; Ger. Em. 678.) — Flowers panicled, drooping. 

 Petals cloven halfway down, moftly naked. Calyx fmooth, 

 reticulated with veins. Stem erett. — Common in dry fields, 

 paftures, and by way-fides throughout Europe, from Nor- 

 way to Greece, flowering in the middle of fummer. Mi- 



chaux 



