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Silene is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae

The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. The species are dicotyledons included in the order Caryophyllales....
. Common names include campion
Campion

Campion may refer to:...
 (shared with the related genus Lychnis
Lychnis

Lychnis is a genus of 15-25 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa. The genus is closely related to Silene, differing in the flowers having five styles , the seed capsule having five teeth , and in the sticky stems of Lychnis....
) and catchfly.

Red Campion
Red Campion

Red campion is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native throughout central, western and northern Europe, and locally in southern Europe....
 (S. dioica) and White Campion
White Campion

Silene latifolia, or White Campion, is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, western Asia and north Africa....
 (S. latifolia) are common wildflower
Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets....
s throughout Europe and elsewhere. They readily hybridise to produce plants with paler pink flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s. The Moss campion
Moss campion

Silene acaulis, moss campion, is a small mountain-dwelling wildflower that is common all over the high arctic and the higher mountains of Europe and North America ....
 is common in the high Arctic.

Silene species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Silene.

Silene undulata (syn.






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Encyclopedia




Silene is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae

The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. The species are dicotyledons included in the order Caryophyllales....
. Common names include campion
Campion

Campion may refer to:...
 (shared with the related genus Lychnis
Lychnis

Lychnis is a genus of 15-25 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa. The genus is closely related to Silene, differing in the flowers having five styles , the seed capsule having five teeth , and in the sticky stems of Lychnis....
) and catchfly.

Red Campion
Red Campion

Red campion is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native throughout central, western and northern Europe, and locally in southern Europe....
 (S. dioica) and White Campion
White Campion

Silene latifolia, or White Campion, is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, western Asia and north Africa....
 (S. latifolia) are common wildflower
Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets....
s throughout Europe and elsewhere. They readily hybridise to produce plants with paler pink flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s. The Moss campion
Moss campion

Silene acaulis, moss campion, is a small mountain-dwelling wildflower that is common all over the high arctic and the higher mountains of Europe and North America ....
 is common in the high Arctic.

Silene species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Silene.

Silene undulata (syn. Silene capensis) is used by the Xhosa tribe in Africa as an oneirogenic agent. Reputedly, a small amount of the root bark of this species is pulverised with water to produce a white froth. This froth is then sucked off and swallowed. The user's dreams for the following several nights are said to be more vivid and memorable than usual, although no effects are felt while awake. Some ethnobotanical websites sell silene specimens as "African Dreaming Root" or "Xhosa Dream Herb" or similar.

External links

  • PLoS Biol 3(1): e28.