Silene spaldingii S. Watson
Spalding's campion (Spalding's silene)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Spalding's campion (Spalding's silene)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a simple or branched stem-base; stems erect, several, branched above, long woolly-hairy and more or less glandular-hairy, 20-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves few, soon deciduous; stem leaves opposite, 4-7 pairs, oblanceolate below to lanceolate above, long woolly-hairy and more or less glandular-hairy, 6-7 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, unstalked and slightly fused; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several to many flowers in a leafy and usually compact cluster; petals 5, white, stalklike at the bases, the stalks about 15 mm long, the blades very short, egg-shaped, about 2 mm long, entire or shallowly notched at the tip, the appendages 4 (5-6); sepals 5, united, forming a tube about 15 mm long at flowering time, becoming more nearly club- or bell-shaped in fruit, 10-nerved.
Fruits:
Capsules oblong, 1-celled; seeds light brown, 2.0 mm long, corrugate-wrinkled and inflated.
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
Dry grasslands in the montane zone; rare in SE BC, known only from Tobacco Plains; S to MT, ID and OR.Status Information
| Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native | S1 | Red | E (May 2005) |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
Similar Species
Silene scouleri is also glandular and has white flowers, but the blades of the petals are 6-7 mm long and deeply lobed, in contrast to those of Silene spaldingii which are only 2 mm long and unlobed or only shallowly notched. The stem leaves of S. scouleri are strongly reduced upwards, and the lower leaves exceed 7.5 cm and are long-tapering with an narrowly acute apex. In contrast, the stem leaves of S. spaldingii are only weakly reduced upwards, longer than 7.5 cm, and broadly lanceolate.
Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre |