E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Silene menziesii var. menziesii
Menzies' campion
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Silene menziesii var. menziesii
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a long, slender, branched rhizome; stems decumbent to ascending, several, branched, hairy and usually glandular above, 5-70 cm tall/long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves usually deciduous by flowering time; stem leaves opposite, lanceolate to narrowly egg-shaped, usually long-pointed, 2-10 cm long, 3-30 mm wide, glandular-hairy, unstalked or nearly so; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several flowers in a leafy, open cluster or, less commonly, solitary; petals 5, white, stalklike at the bases, the blades 2-3 mm long, lobed halfway or more, the stalks about 5 mm long; sepals 5, purplish or greenish, united, forming a glandular-hairy tube 5-8 mm long, 10-nerved; styles 3 or sometimes 4.
Fruits:
Capsules oblong, 5-8 mm long, 1-celled; seeds 0.7-0.9 mm long, black, shiny, smooth or lightly net-veined.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:

1. Stems densely hairy, without glandular hairs...................... var. menziesii

1. Stems densely long soft-hairy with spreading glandular hairs.......................... var. viscosa (Greene) C.L. Hitchc. & Maguire

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic meadows and open forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in S BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to MB and S to NM and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Silene menziesii var. menziesii

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 600 663 727
Slope Gradient (%) 0 10 20
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
300 300 300
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
5 5 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
2
Modal BEC Zone Class
BG
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(1), IDF(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

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General References