Silene menziesii Hook.
Menzies' campion (Menzies' catchfly; Menzies' silene)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #70233)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Silene menziesii
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

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

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Silene 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

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1093 452 2012
Slope Gradient (%)
28 0 88

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

173 10 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 1 6
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
213
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

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

BG(2), ESSF(27), ICH(10), IDF(99), MS(47), PP(24), SBS(1)

Habitat and 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.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia