Herbs, annual, biennial or perennial, often suffrutescent, erect, decumbent or
climbing. Leaves opposite, exstipulate, entire. Flowers in cymes, short or long-pedunculate, sometimes looking like large racemes with short axillary cymules, sometimes
reduced to a single flower. Calyx variable, often inflated and with 5 teeth united below
into a calyx tube, not scarious, 10 -
60 -
nerved. Petals 5, limb and claw usually distinct,
junction often marked by 2 lateral auricles; limb 2-fid or 4-partite, emarginate or entire;
coronal scales usually present, variable in form. Anthophore usually conspicuous.
Stamens 10, 5 usually adnate to petals. Ovary 1-locular above, 3- or 5-locular at base;
styles 3 -
5. Fruit a capsule, opening by twice as many teeth as styles, usually on a
carpophore; seeds variable.
Temperate Europe, Asia, Africa and North America; ca 450 species, 28 species in
India.
Literature.
CHOWDHURI, P. K.
(1957) Studies in the genus Silene. Notes R Bot. Gard. Ednib.
22: 221- 278. BOCQUET, G. (1969) Revisio Physolychnidium (Silene sect. Physolychnis). Phan. Monogr·
1: 1 - 342. tt. 43.
KEY TO THE SPECIES
| 1a. Inflorescences racemosely paniculate with long, sometimes sbort lateral cymules (rarely reduced to opposite pairs or one flower)
|
2
|
| b. Inflorescences dischasial or monochasial cymes, not paniculate
|
21
|
| b. Petals ligulate, entire or divided
|
3
|
| 3a. Main inflorescence axis short (lateral cymules 3 - 7, rarely 1-flowered); pedicels with 2 bracteoles
|
4
|
| b. Main inflorescence axis long; pedicels without bracteoles
|
5
|
| b. Calyx 0.8 - 1 cm long; auricle of the petal claw not toothed
|
24.
Silene stewartii
|
| 5a. Panicles spreading, not racemiform; cymules long, 3 -
7 (reduced to 2 or rarely 1-flowered)
|
6
|
| b. Panicles not spreading, racemiform; cymules short, 1 - 3-flowered, the lower 3 -
5 or 7-flowered
|
7
|
| 7a. Calyx cylindrical, not inflated, subcoriaceous, adpressed in fruit
|
27.
Silene viscosa
|
| b. Calyx campanulate, inflated, membranous, not adpressed in fruit
|
8
|
| b. Calyx teeth less than 1/2 the total calyx length
|
10
|
| 10a. Calyx much inflated, more than 1.2 cm across
|
11
|
| b. Calyx not much inflated, less than 1.2 cm across
|
14
|
| 11a. Anthophore less than 2 mm long
|
12
|
| b. Anthophore more than 2 mm long
|
13
|
| 13a. Anthophore more than 6 mm long; petals 4-partite, more than 8 mm longer than calyx; seeds winged
|
16.
Silene laxantha
|
| b. Anthophore less than 6 mm long; petals 2-fid, less than 7 mm longer than calyx; seeds not winged
|
21.
Silene rechingeri
|
| 14a. Seeds dorsally winged
|
15
|
| b. Seeds dorsally echinate or tuberculate, sometimes nearly smooth, not winged
|
16
|
| 15a. Calyx campanulate; seeds 1.5 - 2 x 2 - 25 mm, laterally compressed, broadly winged
|
8.
Silene falconeri
|
| b. Calyx not campanulate; seeds 1.1 - 1.5 x 1.2 - 1.8 mm, not laterally compressed, narrowly winged
|
11.
Silene gonosperma
|
| 16a. Anthophore less than 1.5 mm long; seeds less than 0.9 x 1 mm
|
17
|
| b. Anthophore more than 2 mm long; seeds more than 1 x 1.2 mm
|
19
|
| b. Plants glandular-hairy
|
18
|
| b. Petals 2-fid, less than 8 mm longer than calyx
|
20
|
| 20a. Anthophore 2 -
3 mm long; petals 3 -
4 mm longer than calyx
|
12.
Silene indica
|
| b. Anthophore more than 3 mm long; petals 6 -
8 mm longer than calyx
|
4.
Silene cashmeriana
|
| 21a. Cymes dichasial, sometimes becoming monochasial above
|
22
|
| b. Cymes monochasial with simple axis or 1 -
3 -forked below (sometimes appearing as unilateral
racemes)
|
26
|
| 22a. Calyx inflated at anthesis; nerves anastomosing
|
23
|
| b. Calyx not inflated at anthesis; nerves not anastomosing
|
24
|
| b. Calyx not conical, 10-nerved
|
25
|
| 26a. Plants perennial, with a woody stock
|
27
|
| b. Petals rose with an exserted claw; capsules on a carpophore
|
5.
Silene colorata
|
