Silene douglasii

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Silenedouglasii.jpg

|genus = Silene

|species = douglasii

|authority = Hook.

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Silene douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Douglas's catchfly.{{PLANTS|id=SIDO|taxon=Silene douglasii|accessdate=14 November 2015}}

It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Wyoming, where it grows in several habitat types, including forests, woodlands, and coastal scrub.

Description

Silene douglasii is a tufted perennial herb growing from a branching caudex and taproot, its stems decumbent to upright and up to 70 centimeters long. The stem is coated in curly or feltlike gray-white hairs. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 6 centimeters long on the lower stem and are smaller higher up.

Each flower is encapsulated in a cylindrical inflated calyx of sepals lined with ten green or purple-red veins. It is open at the tip, revealing five white, pink or purplish petals, each with two wide lobes at the tip.

=Varieties=

There are three varieties of this species.

  • Silene douglasii var. douglasii [http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=SIDOD USDA: Silene douglasii var. douglasii][http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7596 Calflora: Silene douglasii var. douglasii]
  • Silene douglasii var. oraria — Seabluff catchfly, rare and endemic to the Oregon coastline.[http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=SIDOO USDA: Silene douglasii var. oraria]
  • Silene douglasii var. rupinae [http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=SIDOR USDA: Silene douglasii var. rupinae]

References

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