THE PINK FAMILY 
39 
opening at the top by 6 teeth. Herbs, often with a sticky fluid on the stalks which are usually 
iiairy ; this fluid prevents small insects from crawling up the stem and stealing the honey which is 
meant to tempt larger flying insects who will bring pollen from other similar flowers and so 
fertilise the plant. Leaves opposite and entire, stems with swollen joints (nodes). 
Bladder Campion or White Bottle. (Silene Cucubalus, Wibel.)— As just described. 
Flowers f inch across, white, drooping, numerous, sweet-scented at night, in loose clusters (cymes) ; 
the calyx inflated, almost round, and covered with a network of veins often tinged with purple ; 
the petals deeply notched, usually without teeth, and the capsule round, opening by 6 teeth, 
enclosed in the calyx. The stems 1-3 feet high, erect, branched near the base, swollen at the 
joints (nodes), usually without hairs, and with a bluish bloom ; the leaves oblong and pointed, the 
upper ones stalkless. Occasionally a variety (Silene Cucubalus, var. puberula, Syme.) is found 
which is rather thickly clothed with very short curled hairs. [ Plate 23. 
Common, particularly on chalky and sandy soils. Waysides, fields, and pastures. June — 
August. Perennial. 
Sea Campion. (Silene maritima, With.) — A very similar species, differing in having 
usually solitary flowers, never more than 3 together, about 1 inch across, with broader, notched 
petals, which are always toothed at the base of the spreading blade ; the stems 3-10 inches high, 
and the leaves shorter and almost fleshy, growing in tufts and often forming green cushions. 
Common on the seashore, on sand, or shingle, or rocks ; more rarely found on wet mountain rocks. 
June — September. Perennial. 
*Common Garden Catchfly. (Silene Armeria, Linn.)— Not a native. Flowers 
| inch across, numerous, rose-colour, in rather compact, flat-topped clusters (corymbose 
cymes) [as just described in the genus Catchfly, Campion (Silene)] ; the calyx-tube with 10 
ribs, tinged with red, and the 5 petals each with 2 long, erect teeth ; the capsule narrowly 
oval, as long as the sepals, opening by 6 teeth ; the stems 1-2 feet high, erect, the upper part 
being sticky, swollen at the joints (nodes), and the leaves oval and pointed, opposite, smooth, 
stalkless. 
Very rare ; an escape from cultivation. Cornfields, riversides, and waste places. July. Annual. 
Striated Corn Catchfly. (Silene conica, Linn.)— Flowers small, | inch across, erect, 
numerous, pale rose-colour, in loose clusters (cymes) ; the calyx-tube marked with 30 ribs ; the 
petals notched, and with 2 teeth at the top of the claw, 3 styles ; and the capsule oval, shorter 
than the sepals, opening by 6 teeth. [As just described in the genus Catchfly (Silene).] The 
stems 6-12 inches high, erect, with soft hairs with sticky glands, swollen at the joints (nodes), and 
the leaves opposite, very narrow, pointed. 
Very rare. Commons and sandy fields. June — July. Annual. 
English Catchfly. (Silene angliea, Linn.)— Flowers small, inch across, almost 
stalkless, white, sometimes tinged with pink, solitary, in succession up the stem, with a pair of 
leaf-like bracts at the base of each flower, forming a spike-like cluster ; the calyx-tube covered with 
long, shaggy, white hairs ; the petals notched, and with 2 teeth at the top of the claws ; 3 styles ; and 
the capsule egg-shaped, opening by 6 teeth. [As just described in the genus Catchfly (Silene).] 
The stems 9-18 inches high, branched, the upper part sticky, with long, white hairs, swollen at the 
joints (nodes), and the leaves small, the upper ones very narrow and pointed, the lower broader. 
Not uncommon in the south of England in sandy or gravelly fields. June — September. Annual. 
Spotted Catchfly. (Silene quinquevulnera, Linn.) — A similar species, differing in 
having larger flowers, which have deep crimson markings on each petal, which is entire, and not 
notched. [ Plate 22 
