Silene acaulis var. acaulis
moss campion
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Alfred Cook     (Photo ID #8262)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Silene acaulis var. acaulis
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a woody root and a branched stem-base; densely tufted, forming thick cushions to 40 cm wide; stems erect, solitary, simple, glabrous, 3-6 (rarely 15) cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal and stem leaves opposite, linear to lance-linear, unstalked, 5-15 mm long, to 1.5 mm wide, glabrous to fringed at the base or stiffly short-hairy, channelled above, so dense as to obscure the stem; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary flowers, usually unisexual (the plants either male or female); petals 5, pink to lavender (occasionally white), egg-shaped, 2-cleft, 8-12 mm long, with narrow stalklike bases about twice as long as the blades; sepals 5, green or frequently pinkish to purplish-tinged, united, forming a tube 4-9 mm long, 10-nerved, glabrous.
Fruits:
Capsules subcylindric, 4-10 mm long, 6-valved; seeds light brown to yellowish, kidney-shaped, 0.8-1.2 mm long, weakly pimply.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:

1. Calyces 4-7 mm tall.................... var. acaulis

1. Calyces 6-11 mm tall..................... var. subacaulescens (F.N. Williams) Fern. & St. John

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Silene acaulis var. acaulis

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1740 1740 1740
Slope Gradient (%)
42 35 50

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

242 225 260
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 1 3
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
2
Modal BEC Zone Class
SWB

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BAFA(1), SWB(1)

Habitat and Range

Mesic to dry meadows, rock outcrops and fellfields in the alpine zone; common throughout BC, except infrequent on the Queen Charlotte Islands; var. acaulis - circumpolar, N to AK, YT, and NT, E to NF and S to OR, ID, MT and NH, var. subacaulescens - E to AB and S to MT, AZ, NM, NV and OR; Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia