''Silene'' is a
genus of
flowering plants in the
family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family.
Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularly in the northern hemisphere.
Scientific history
Members of this genus have been the subject of research by preeminent plant ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and geneticists, including
Charles Darwin,
Gregor Mendel,
Carl Correns,
Herbert G. Baker, and
Janis Antonovics. Many ''Silene'' species continue to be widely used to study systems, particularly in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.
[Bernasconi et al. 2009. Silene as a model system in ecology and evolution. Heredity. 103:5-14. PMI]
19367316
/ref> The genus has been used as a model for understanding the genetics of sex determination for over a century. ''Silene'' species commonly contain a mixture of hermaphroditic and female (or male-sterile) individuals (gynodioecy), and early studies by Correns showed that male sterility could be maternally inherited, an example of what is now known as cytoplasmic male sterility. Two independent groups of species in ''Silene'' have evolved separate male and female sexes (dioecy) with chromosomal sex determination that is analogous to the system found in humans and other mammals.
''Silene'' flowers are frequently visited by flies, such as '' Rhingia campestris''. ''Silene'' species have also been used to study speciation, host-pathogen interactions, biological species invasions, adaptation to heavy-metal-contaminated soils, metapopulation genetics, and organelle genome evolution.
Etymology
''Silene'' is the feminine form of Silenus, an Ancient Greek woodland deity who was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
.
Taxonomy
''Silene'' was originally described by Linnaeus. ''Silene'' is the feminine form of Silenus, a Greek woodland deity. Divisions of the genus into subgenera or sections before 2003 do not seem to be well-supported by molecular evidence.
The genus ''Lychnis'' is closely related to and considered separate from ''Silene'', differing in the flowers having five styles (three in ''Silene''), the seed capsule having five teeth (six in ''Silene''), and in the sticky stems of ''Lychnis''.
Sexual systems
Sexual systems vary across species. Most ''Silene'' species are hermaphroditic representing 58.2% of ''Silene'' species, 14.3% are dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, 13.3% gynodioecious, and 12.2% are both gynodioecious and gynomonoecious. Trioecy, andromonoecy, and gynomonoecy have also been reported but are extremely rare.
Species
Ecology
The lychnis is also the common name of '' Hadena bicruris'', a species of noctuid moth. The larva of this moth feeds on ''Silene'' (formerly ''Lychnis'') species, as do some other Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
including cabbage moth (recorded on ''Silene chalcedonica''), grey chi and case-bearers of the genus '' Coleophora'' including ''C. albella'' (feeds exclusively on ''Silene flos-cuculi'') and ''C. leucapennella''.
Uses
Many species of ''Silene'' are in cultivation for perennial gardens. Some have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
, including ''Silene flos-jovis
''Silene flos-jovis'', the flower-of-Jove, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to the central Alps and found at elevations of . It is a mat-forming perennial growing to tall and wide, with hairy grey-green leav ...
'' and ''Silene schafta
''Silene schafta'', the Caucasian campion or autumn catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to western Asia. Growing to tall by wide, it is a mat-forming semi-evergreen perennial, with narrow leaves and c ...
''.
''Silene undulata
''Silene undulata'' ( xh, iindlela zimhlophe—"white ways/paths", also known as ''Silene capensis'', and African dream root) is a plant native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Cultivation
In cultivation, ''S. undulata'' is an easily grown ...
'' (syn. ''S. capensis'') is known as ''iindlela zimhlophe'' ("white paths") by the Xhosa of South Africa. A Xhosa diviner
Diviner, also referred to as the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), is an infrared radiometer aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, part of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program which is studying the Moon. It has been used to create ...
identifies and collects the plant from the wild. The roots are ground, mixed with water, and beaten to a froth, which is consumed by novice diviners during the full moon to influence their dreams. They also take it to prepare for various rituals. The root has such a strong, musky essence that the diviners who consume it exude the scent in their sweat.[Hirst, M. (2005)]
Dreams and medicines: The perspective of Xhosa diviners and novices in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
''Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology'' 5(2) 1-22.
''Silene vulgaris
''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' of the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it i ...
'', or Bladder Campion, is eaten in some Mediterranean countries. Young leaves may be eaten raw, and mature leaves are boiled, fried, stewed or mixed into dishes such as risotto.
Fossil record
†''Silene microsperma'' fossil seeds of the Chattian
The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...
stage, Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
, are known from the Oberleichtersbach Formation in the Rhön Mountains
The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...
, central Germany.[The floral change in the tertiary of the Rhön mountains (Germany) by Dieter Hans Mai - Acta Paleobotanica 47(1): 135-143, 2007.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q116209, from2=Q158863
Caryophyllaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus