''Silene noctiflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae 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, Cactacea ...

known by the common names night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene and clammy cockle. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

and sometimes a weed. In North America, it is a common weed of

grain crops A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

in the Canadian prairie provinces and in much of the United States.North American Plant Protection Organization
It grows in fields and in other disturbed habitat.

Description

Wild Night-Flowering Catchfly in Behbahan

The night-flowering catchfly 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 grow in opposite pairs and are up to 14 centimeters long and 5 wide, the largest ones located low on the stem. The flowers are nocturnal,Flora of North America
/ref> and occur in an open cyme of up to fifteen blooms, each borne on an erect

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

. The flower is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of fused

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s lined with a netlike pattern of veining. The five petals are white to pink and each has two lobes at the tip. They measure up to 2.5 centimeters wide when fully open. The fruit is a yellowish-brown capsule with six chambers which splits open to release the seeds.

Ecology

As night falls the flowers of the night-flowering catchfly open and release a strong fragrance which attracts night-flying moths which feed on the copious nectar and pollinate the plant.

Research

Besides being a competitive weed, the night-flowering catchfly is host to some

plant pathogens Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

that can spread to crop plants, including tobacco streak virus and

Lychnis ringspot virus ''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, particularl ...

. The

mitochondrial genome Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

of this species has been sequenced. It is 6.7 megabases long, which is very large compared to some other ''Silene'' species such as

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 ...

(0.43 megabases), is one of the largest sequenced plant mitochondrial genomes (the largest is

Silene conica ''Silene conica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names striped corn catchfly and sand catchfly. It grows in dunes and sandy soils and is widespread in Europe and western Asia. It has an annual li ...

at 11.3 megabases), and consists of 59 small

chromosomes A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

.Mitochondrial genome study
/ref>NCBI sequenced plant mitochondrial genomes
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q159022 noctiflora Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Night-blooming plants