Night Flowering Campion

Silene noctiflora is sometimes confused with S. latifolia, but they are very different species. Silene noctiflora differs in having perfect flowers with long, very narrow calyx teeth and an elliptic, fruiting calyx that is narrow at the mouth and constricted around the capsule base. It also has three styles and a capsule that dehisces by six teeth; S. latifolia has (four or) five styles and a capsule that dehisces by five bifid teeth. The flowers of S. noctiflora, as its name indicates, are nocturnal and moth-pollinated.

Plants annual, densely pubescent throughout, viscid-glandular, especially distally; taproot slender. Stems erect, simple proximal to inflorescence or with few basal branches, branched distally, to 75 cm. Leaves 2 per node, gradually reduced distally; basal blades oblanceolate, 6-12(-14) cm × 20-45 mm; cauline blades ascending, conspicuously veined, broadly elliptic to lanceolate, 1-11 cm × 3-40 mm, apex acute, shortly acuminate, densely pubescent on both surfaces. Inflorescences cymose, 3-15-flowered, bracteate; cyme open, flowers held on ascending branches; bracts leaflike, narrowly lanceolate, 1-5 cm, apex acuminate. Pedicels ascending, straight, 1/ 3-3 times longer than calyx. Flowers nocturnal, 20-25 mm diam.; calyx prominently 10-veined, ovate-elliptic, fusiform, narrowed to both ends and constricted around carpophore, 15-24(-40) × ca. 3 mm in flower, swelling to 10 mm diam. in fruit, thin and papery, margins dentate, with pale commissures; lobes erect, often recurved in fruit, linear-lanceolate, long, narrow, (3-)5-10(-15) mm, apex acuminate, short-pubescent, glandular, interspersed with long eglandular hairs, veins anastomosing; corolla white, often pink tinged, clawed, claw equaling calyx lobes, limb deeply 2-lobed, lobes usually narrow, appendages 0.5-1.5 mm broad, margins entire or erose; stamens shorter than petals; styles 3, shorter than petals. Capsules ovoid, constricted at mouth, equaling or slightly longer than calyx tube, opening by 6 recurved teeth; carpophore 1-3 mm. Seeds dark brown to black, with gray bloom, broadly reniform, 0.8-1 mm, strongly tuberculate. 2n = 24.

Herbs annual, 30--50(--90) cm tall, densely shortly pubescent. Primary root slightly lignified. Stems erect, simple or sparsely branched, apically glandular hairy. Basal leaves long elliptic-obovate, 5--11 × 2--4 cm, both surfaces villous, midvein and lateral veins prominent, base attenuate into short petiole, half clasping, apex acute; distal leaves subsessile, narrowly elliptic or lanceolate. Dichasial cymes few flowered, glandular hairy; flowers bisexual, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. Pedicel erect, shorter than calyx; bracts lanceolate, glandular hairy. Calyx tubular, 2--2.5(--3) cm × ca. 5 mm, glandular hairy, inflated and ellipsoid at late anthesis, slightly constricted at apex; longitudinal veins 10, violet, reticulate; calyx teeth narrowly lanceolate, 8--10 mm. Androgynophore ca. 2 mm. Petals ca. 2.5 cm; claws slightly exserted beyond calyx, narrowly oblanceolate, glabrous, auricles triangular; limbs pale pink, yellowish below, obovate, ca. 6 mm, deeply bifid to 1/2 to 2/3 of limbs; lobes entire or slightly erose, inrolled at daylight; coronal scales ovoid, small, 2--4-toothed. Stamens included; filaments glabrous. Styles 3, slightly exserted. Capsule ovoid, 1.5--1.8 cm, shorter than calyx. Seeds dark brown, reniform, ca. 1 mm. Fl. Jun--Jul, fr. Jul--Aug. 2n = 24.

introduced; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ala., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Ky., La., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Tenn., Utah., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; Europe.

Xinjiang (N of Tian Shan) [Kazakhstan, Russia; SW Asia, Europe].

Flowering summer.

Arable land, disturbed ground; 0-3000m.

Grasslands; 1300--1800 m.

Melandrium noctiflorum (Linnaeus) Fries

Elisanthe noctiflora (Linnaeus) Ruprecht; Melandrium noctiflorum (Linnaeus) Fries.