Silene invisa
Silene invisa is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names red fir catchfly[1] and short-petaled campion.
Silene invisa | |
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Herbarium specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
Genus: | Silene |
Species: | S. invisa |
Binomial name | |
Silene invisa C.L.Hitchc. & Maguire | |
It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the southernmost Cascade Range and northernmost Sierra Nevada. It grows in the coniferous forests of the mountains.
Description
Silene invisa is a perennial herb growing up to about 40 centimeters tall from a leafy caudex and taproot. The linear or lance-shaped leaves are a few centimeters long low on the plant and smaller farther up the stem.
The inflorescence is a solitary flower or a cyme of up to three flowers at the top of the stem. Each flower has a bell-shaped calyx of fused sepals lined with ten green veins and covered in short, glandular hairs. The strap-shaped or rectangular petals have blunt tips or may be notched. They are whitish to pinkish or lavender and sometimes barely protrude from the calyx.
References
- USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Silene invisa". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
External links
- Jepson Manual Treatment of Silene invisa
- USDA Plants Profile
- Flora of North America
- UC Photos gallery: Silene invisa