Silene dioica

Silene dioica
Silene dioica (red campion)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Silene
Species:
S. dioica
Binomial name
Silene dioica
Synonyms
List
    • Agrostemma sylvestre (Schkuhr) G.Don
    • Lychnis arvensis G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.
    • Lychnis dioecia Mill.
    • Lychnis dioica L.
    • Lychnis dioica subsp. rubra Weigel
    • Lychnis diurna Sibth.
    • Lychnis diurna var. glaberrima Sekera
    • Lychnis preslii Sekera
    • Lychnis rosea Salisb.
    • Lychnis rubra Patze, E.Mey. & Elkan
    • Lychnis silvestris Rafn
    • Lychnis sylvestris Schkuhr
    • Lychnis vespertina Sibth.
    • Melandrium dioicum (L.) Coss. & Germ.
    • Melandrium dioicum f. glaberrimum (Sekera) D.Löve
    • Melandrium dioicum f. lacteum (Hartm.) D.Löve
    • Melandrium dioicum subsp. glaberrimum (Celak.) Soják
    • Melandrium dioicum subsp. rubrum (Weigel) D.Löve
    • Melandrium dioicum var. zetlandicum Compton
    • Melandrium diurnum Fr.
    • Melandrium preslii (Sekera) Nyman
    • Melandrium purpureum Rupr.
    • Melandrium rubrum (Weigel) Garcke
    • Melandrium stenophyllum Schur
    • Saponaria dioica (L.) Moench
    • Silene dioica f. lactea (Hartm.) Meusel & K.Werner
    • Silene dioica subsp. glaberrima (Celak.) Soják
    • Silene dioica var. glaberrima (K.Malý) Meusel & K.Werner
    • Silene dioica var. glabrescens (Schur) Meusel & K.Werner
    • Silene dioica var. glandulosa (Brügger) Kerguélen
    • Silene dioica var. pygmaea (Ser.) Meusel & K.Werner
    • Silene dioica var. serpentinicola (Rune) Ericsson
    • Silene dioica var. smithii (Rune) Ericsson
    • Silene dioica var. stenophylla (Schur) Meusel & K.Werner
    • Silene dioica var. zetlandica (Compton) Kerguélen
    • Silene diurna Gren. & Godr.
    • Silene hornemannii Steud.
    • Silene latifolia Hornem.
    • Silene rubra Burnat

Silene dioica (syn. Melandrium rubrum), known as red campion and red catchfly, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe and introduced to the Americas.

Description

It is a biennial or perennial plant, which grows to 30–90 centimetres (12–35 inches) tall, with branching stems. The deep green leaves are in opposite and decussate pairs, simple acute ovate, 3–8 cm (1–3 in) long with an untoothed margin; both the leaves and stems of the plant are hairy and slightly sticky. The upper leaves are stalkless.

Blooming from May to October, the unscented flowers are dark pink to red, each 1.8–2.5 cm (3⁄4–1 in) across. There are five petals which are deeply notched at the end, narrowed at the base and all go into an urn-shaped calyx. As indicated by the specific name, male and female flowers are borne on separate plants (dioecious), the male with 10 stamens and a 10-veined calyx, the female with 5 styles and a 20-veined calyx.

The fruit, produced from July onwards, is an ovoid capsule containing numerous seeds, opening at the apex by 10 teeth which curve back.

Taxonomy

Plants of Silene latifolia × Silene dioica = Silene × hampeana that are fertile hybrids with the closely related white campion (Silene latifolia) are common in some areas. They may have paler pink flowers and be intermediate between the two species in other characters.

Distribution and habitat

Silene dioica is native to northern and central Europe and is locally abundant throughout the British Isles. It is generally common in Northern Ireland, but rare elsewhere in Ireland. It is common on the Isle of Man. It has been introduced in Iceland, Canada, the US, and Argentina.

Red campion grows in roadsides, woodlands, and rocky slopes. It prefers to grow on damp, non-acid soils.

Ecology

A Lychnis moth caterpillar feeding on the seeds of red campion (Silene dioica)

The flowers are frequently visited by flies such as Rhingia campestris. The nectar of the flowers is utilised by bumblebees and butterflies, and several species of moth feed on the foliage.

The flowers of red-campion along with a number of other Caryophyllaceae members, are very susceptible to a smut infection. In this case by Microbotryum silenes-dioicae known as anther-smut which appears as a mass of brown spores in the mouth of the flower where the anthers would normally be.

Cultivation

This plant is used as an ornamental perennial flower for the perennial border. One particularly notable variety is a hot pink, double flowered variety with deep green leaves called 'Firefly'.

Medicinal and culinary uses

The young leaves and flowers of red campion are edible, although cooking or blanching is recommended to remove the bitter aftertaste.

Nicholas Culpeper recommended red campion for the treatment of warts, corns, kidney disease, internal bleeding, insect stings, and adder bites.

In culture

On the Isle of Man, it is known as "blaa ny ferrishyn" or "fairy flower", and there is a local taboo against picking it.

In the Catholic Church, red campion flowers are associated with the Jesuit martyr Edmund Campion.

References

  1. 1 2 "Silene dioica (L.) Clairv". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. ↑ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ↑ NRCS. "Silene dioica". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. pp. 473. ISBN 9780521707725.
  5. ↑ Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1962. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press.
  6. ↑ Hackney, P.(Ed) 1992. Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland. Third Edition Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast. ISBN 0-85389-446-9
  7. ↑ Webb, D.A., Parnell, J. and Doogue, D. 1998. An Irish Flora. Seventh Revised Edition. Dundalgan Press (W. Tempest) Ltd. Dundalk. ISBN 0-85221-131-7
  8. 1 2 Moore, A.W. (1924). A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect. Oxford University Press.
  9. ↑ EnchantedForest: Red Campion Archived 2006-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2015). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers". Plant Biology. 18 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. hdl:11370/caee8d0d-9724-4056-9d45-93162a5a7afc. PMID 25754608.
  11. ↑ Hood, M. E.; Mena-Alí, J. I.; Gibson, A. K.; Oxelman, B.; Giraud, T.; Yockteng, R.; Arroyo, M. T.; Conti, F.; Pedersen, A. B.; Gladieux, P.; Antonovics, J. (July 2010). "Distribution of the anther-smut pathogen Microbotryum on species of the Caryophyllaceae". The New Phytologist. 187 (1). NCBI: 217–229. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03268.x. PMC 3487183. PMID 20406409.
  12. ↑ Eat Weeds by Robin Halford
  13. ↑ Totally wild UK
  14. ↑ Nicholas Culpeper, English physician 1798, page 110
  15. ↑ Homeopathy school