Silene multinervia
Encyclopedia
Silene multinervia is a species of flowering plant in the pink family
known by the common name manynerve catchfly. It is native to the coastal hills and mountain ranges of California
and Baja California
, where it grows in chaparral
and other local habitat. It is an annual herb producing a hairy, glandular, erect stem to a maximum height near 65 centimeters. The leaves are lance-shaped and up to 10 centimeters long, with the largest ones low on the stem and smaller ones farther up. Flowers occur in a terminal cyme at the top of the stem, as well as in some of the leaf axils. Each is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of fused sepal
s which is lined with many veins, more than the ten that many other Silene have. The five petals are white to pink and have small notches in their tips.
Like many chaparral plants, this species is adapted to wildfire
-prone conditions. Its seeds are strongly stimulated to germinate when exposed to smoke
.
Caryophyllaceae
The 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, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...
known by the common name manynerve catchfly. It is native to the coastal hills and mountain ranges of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and other local habitat. It is an annual herb producing a hairy, glandular, erect stem to a maximum height near 65 centimeters. The leaves are lance-shaped and up to 10 centimeters long, with the largest ones low on the stem and smaller ones farther up. Flowers occur in a terminal cyme at the top of the stem, as well as in some of the leaf axils. Each is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of fused sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s which is lined with many veins, more than the ten that many other Silene have. The five petals are white to pink and have small notches in their tips.
Like many chaparral plants, this species is adapted to wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
-prone conditions. Its seeds are strongly stimulated to germinate when exposed to smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
.