Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Silene dichotoma ssp. dichotoma
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Silene at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silene dichotoma
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Silene dichotoma
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Silene dichotoma ssp. dichotoma
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-17-003:
Silene dichotoma FAMILY Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silene dichotoma
COMMON NAME:
Forked Catchfly
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sidi2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_09
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Sessile flowers borne on a one-sided raceme-like inflorescence, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_12
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Calyxes narrowly tubular. Stems hairy but not glandular, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_16
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Mid-stem leaves opposite and lanceolate to oblanceolate, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
JK Marlow jkm0506p_17
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Stems dichotomously branched, creating pairs of long one-sided racemes, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Silene dichotoma ssp. dichotoma
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silene dichotoma
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Silene dichotoma
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Silene dichotoma ssp. dichotoma
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-17-003:
Silene dichotoma
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silene dichotoma
3193
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Fields, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Uncommon in NC Mountains (waifs in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Midstem leaves opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Usually bisexual
Raceme-like
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p010
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p058
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p078
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p037
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".