Silene noctiflora
Encyclopedia
Silene noctiflora is a species of flowering plant in the pink family
known by the common name night-flowering catchfly. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an introduced species
and sometimes a weed
. In North America, it is a common weed of grain crops
in the Canadian prairie provinces and in much of the United States. It grows in fields and in other disturbed habitat.
This is an annual herb producing a hairy, glandular stem up to about 75 or 80 centimeters in maximum height. It is sticky in texture. The hairy, widely lance-shaped leaves are up to 14 centimeters long and 5 wide, the largest ones located low on the stem. The flowers are nocturnal, and occur in an open cyme of up to 15, each borne on an erect pedicel
. The flower is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of fused sepal
s lined with a netlike pattern of veining. The petals are white to pink and each has two lobes at the tip. The flowers open at night and measure up to 2.5 centimeters wide when fully open. The flowers are fragrant.
Besides being a competitive weed, the plant is host to some plant pathogens that can spread to crop plants, including tobacco streak virus
and Lychnis ringspot virus.
Caryophyllaceae
The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...
known by the common name night-flowering catchfly. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and sometimes a weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
. In North America, it is a common weed of grain crops
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
in the Canadian prairie provinces and in much of the United States. It grows in fields and in other disturbed habitat.
This is an annual herb producing a hairy, glandular stem up to about 75 or 80 centimeters in maximum height. It is sticky in texture. The hairy, widely lance-shaped leaves are up to 14 centimeters long and 5 wide, the largest ones located low on the stem. The flowers are nocturnal, and occur in an open cyme of up to 15, each borne on an erect pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. The flower is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of fused sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s lined with a netlike pattern of veining. The petals are white to pink and each has two lobes at the tip. The flowers open at night and measure up to 2.5 centimeters wide when fully open. The flowers are fragrant.
Besides being a competitive weed, the plant is host to some plant pathogens that can spread to crop plants, including tobacco streak virus
Tobacco streak virus
Tobacco streak virus is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Bromoviridae.-External links:**- Affected organisms :* Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis* Faba bean, Vicia faba* Cotton, Gossypium herbaceum* Sun flower* Groundnut...
and Lychnis ringspot virus.