Silene dioica (L.) Clairville
red campion (red catchfly)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
red campion (red catchfly)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Biennial or perennial herb from a fibrous root; stems erect, several, branched, glandular above, 30-90 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped, narrowed to winged stalks, hairy; stem leaves opposite, broadly elliptic to egg-shaped-elliptic, 4-10 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, hairy; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence many-flowered, in clusters, flowers unisexual, plants both male and female; petals 5, red to purplish-red or pink, stalklike at the bases, deeply 2-cleft; sepals 5, usually purplish, hairy, the hairs with purple cross walls, united, forming a tube 10-15 mm long, slightly glandular.
Fruits:
Capsules egg-shaped, with 5, 2-toothed valves; seeds black, densely roughened.
Notes:
Hybrids between S. dioica and S. latifolia ssp. alba have been collected in the lower Fraser Valley and N to Prince George (McNeill 1978).
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Mesic open forests in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC, known only from the lower Fraser Valley; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lychnis dioica L.
Melandrium dioicum (L.) Coss. & Germ.
Melandrium dioicum subsp. rubrum (Weigel) D. Löve
Melandrium rubrum (Weigel) Garcke