Caryophyllaceae
Silene

Silene burchellii Otth

First published in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 1: 374 (1824)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SW. & S. Cape Prov. It is a perennial or tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb, covered with short eglandular hairs in all aerial parts; stems erect, up to at least 50 cm tall
Morphology Leaves
Leaves crowded towards the base of the plant, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 12–50 x 1–5 mm in Somali material, acute or subacute at the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes raceme-like, unbranched or forked at the base, 1–7-flowered
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Calyx tubular-clavate, 20–25 mm long with 3–5 mm long teeth in Somali material. Petals reddish-brown, purple, pink or white
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Styles 3
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds rounded-reniform, c. 1.6 mm in diam. in Somali material, dorsal surface deeply grooved with marginal wings, surface with fine radiating rugulose lines, dark brown.
Distribution
N2, 3 Eritrea, Ethiopia and southwards to South Africa, and in tropical Arabia.
Ecology
Altitude range 1600–1900 m.
[FSOM]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Caryophyllaceae, H. Wild. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb with parsnip-like or ovoid-tuberous roots, more or less pubescent with short hairs on all aerial parts; stems erect or ascending, up to 70 cm. tall, branching low down, coastal forms often with procumbent vegetative shoots.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 1–8 × 0·1–1·3 cm., sessile or shortly petiolate on procumbent vegetative shoots, narrowly linear to oblong-lanceolate or oblong-oblanceolate or rarely obovate, acute or obtuse and mucronate at the apex, cuneate at the base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in simple, lax, one-sided, 2–7-flowered racemes at the ends of the branches; peduncle up to 20 cm. long, usually rather elongate; bracts up to 8 mm. long but often less, subulate to linear-lanceolate; pedicels very short or up to c. 1·5 cm. long on the lowest flowers.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 1·1–2·5 (3·5) cm. long, tubular-clavate with 10 darker nerves; teeth 2–3 mm. long, lanceolate to ovate, obtuse or acute to shortly acuminate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals reddish-brown, purple, pinkish or white, 1–3 (–5) mm. long, often minutely puberulous; claw about the same length as the calyx; limb about half the length of the claw, bifid to about half way; coronal scales whitish, ± semicircular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens with filiform filaments ± equalling the petal claw in length.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary ellipsoid, on a very short stalk; styles 3, 5–7 mm. long, filamentous, hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule on a stalk up to 6 mm. long, oblong-ellipsoid, enclosed in the persistent calyx but slightly exserted, c. 1 cm. long, opening at the apex by 6 ± recurved valves.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds numerous, brown, c. 2 mm. in diam., flattened-reniform with a double marginal wing, smooth or very slightly tuberculate.
[FZ]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images