''Silene stellata'', known by the common names starry campion, widow's frill, and whorled catchfly, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

summer

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

with white flowers, native to the central and eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It grows in habitats such as forests, river flats, and tall grass prairies. Silene stellata habit

Description

''S. stellata'' grows to a height of , with one or multiple stems rising from the

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...

. The stems are a purplish color near the bottom and a pale green toward the top, except at leaf nodes, which are also a purplish color. Leaves are

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, and have a smooth margin. They are opposite near the bottom of the plant and in whorls of 4 on the rest of the stem. Leaves are up to long and wide. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a loose

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

consisting of several branches, each with 1 to 6 or more white flowers with 5 petals. Flowers are up to wide. The flowers have no scent.

Etymology

''Silene'' is from the Greek god

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) was a companion and tutor to the wine Greek god, god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue (''thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, ...

. ''Stellata'' means "star-shaped" in Latin.

Distribution and habitat

The plant can be found in woods, river flats, and tall grass prairies, and it prefers a dry to mesic habitat with light shade or partial sun. It is native to the central and eastern United States, from Texas to the west and Vermont to the east and north.

Ecology

''S. stellata'' blooms from June to September for 3 to 4 weeks. The white flowers close when there is bright sun. Moths are the primary pollinators, although butterflies also pollinate the flowers. The plant is a host for the caterpillars of the '' Hadena ectypa'' moth.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7514503 Flora of the Eastern United States stellata