''Silene'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

. 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 Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

Gregor Mendel Gregor Johann Mendel Order of Saint Augustine, OSA (; ; ; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinians, Augustinian friar and abbot of St Thomas's Abbey, Brno, St. Thom ...

Carl Correns Carl Erich Correns (19 September 1864 – 14 February 1933) was a German botanist and geneticist notable primarily for his independent discovery of the principles of heredity, which he achieved simultaneously but independently of the botanist ...

, 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 Gynodioecy is a rare breeding system that is found in certain flowering plant species in which female and hermaphroditic plants coexist within a population. Gynodioecy is the evolutionary intermediate between hermaphroditism (exhibiting both f ...

), 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 Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

) 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 ''Rhingia campestris'' is a species of hoverfly, long, with a wingspan of . It is common across the Palearctic from March until November. It has a broad orange abdomen with a black line along the sides (the black line is absent along the sides o ...

''. ''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. Notably, some members of the genus ''Silene'' hold the distinction of harboring the largest mitochondrial genomes ever identified.

Taxonomy

''Silene'' was originally described by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

. Divisions of the genus into subgenera or

sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

before 2003 do not seem to be well-supported by molecular evidence. The genus ''Lychnis'' is closely related to (and sometimes included in) ''Silene''. When treated as a distinct genus, it can often be differentiated by the number of flower styles (five in ''Lychnis' and three in ''Silene''), the number of teeth of the seed capsule (five in ''Lychnis' and six in ''Silene''), and by the sticky stems of ''Lychnis''.

Sexual systems

Sexual system A sexual system is a distribution of male and female functions across organisms in a species. The terms reproductive system and mating system have also been used as synonyms. Sexual systems play a key role in genetic variation and reproductive ...

s vary across species. Most ''Silene'' species are

hermaphroditic A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

representing 58.2% of ''Silene'' species, 14.3% are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, 13.3% gynodioecious, and 12.2% are both gynodioecious and

gynomonoecious Gynomonoecy is defined as the presence of both female and hermaphrodite flowers on the same individual of a plant species. It is prevalent in Asteraceae but is poorly understood. It is a monomorphic sexual system comparable with monoecy, andromon ...

Trioecy Trioecy , also spelled triecy, is a sexual system characterized by the coexistence of males, females, and hermaphrodites. It has been found in both plants and animals. Like androdioecy and gynodioecy, trioecy is a mixed mating systems. Term ...

andromonoecy Andromonoecy is a breeding system of plant species in which male and hermaphrodite flowers are on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system comparable with monoecy, gynomonoecy and trimonoecy. Andromonoecy is frequent among genera with zy ...

, and gynomonoecy have also been reported but are extremely rare.

Etymology

''Silene'' is the feminine form of

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; , ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Pa ...

, an Ancient Greek woodland deity who was a companion and tutor to the wine god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

Species

Ecology

Lychnis is also the common name of ''

Hadena bicruris The lychnis (''Hadena bicruris'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in northern and western Europe and Turkey. It has an Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution. In the East Palearctic it is replaced by '' Hadena capsincola''. Descripti ...

'', a species of

noctuid The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along w ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

of this moth feeds on ''Silene'' (formerly ''Lychnis'') species, as do some other

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

including

cabbage moth The cabbage moth (''Mamestra brassicae'') is primarily known as a pest that is responsible for severe crop damage of a wide variety of plant species. The common name, cabbage moth, is a misnomer as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, ...

s (recorded on '' Silene chalcedonica''), grey chi and case-bearers of the genus ''

Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors have t ...

'' including '' C. albella'' (feeds exclusively on '' Silene flos-cuculi'').

Uses

Many species of ''Silene'' are in cultivation for perennial gardens. Some have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

, including '' Silene flos-jovis'' 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'' (syn. ''S. capensis'') is known as ''iindlela zimhlophe'' ("white paths") by the

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. 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 t ...

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

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

s. 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'' within the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. Native to the Old World, the plant has been naturalized elsewhere, including North America. The young sh ...

'', or bladder campion, is eaten in some

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

countries. Young leaves may be eaten raw, and mature leaves are boiled, fried, stewed or mixed into dishes such as

risotto Risotto ( , ; from , 'rice') is an Italian cuisine, Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, a ...

Fossil record

Fossil ''Silene microsperma'' seeds from 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 of the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

have been found in 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 ...

of central

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

.The floral change in the tertiary of the Rhön mountains (Germany) by Dieter Hans Mai - Acta Paleobotanica 47(1): 135-143, 2007.

References

{{Authority control Caryophyllaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus