Silene tomentosa, the Gibraltar campion, is a very rare flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 of the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Silene

Silene

Silene is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Common names include campion and catchfly....

and the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Caryophyllaceae

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...

. It is a woody-based

Woody plant

A woody plant is a plant that uses wood as its structural tissue. These are typically perennial plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues. The main stem, larger branches, and roots of these plants are usually covered by a layer of...

 perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 about 40cm high, with bilobed flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s ranging from pink to pale violet and is endemic to Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

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Re-discovery and conservation

Although the scientific community outside Gibraltar already thought Silene tomentosa to be extinct, the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society

Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society

The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society , founded in 1976, is a non-governmental, membership-based organisation committed to research into and conservation of nature in Gibraltar and the region of the Strait of Gibraltar....

's botanical section knew it was still around in 1985, but by 1992 they also considered it to be extinct.

It was later re-discovered in 1994, when it was found growing in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. Following this re-discovery, it was propagated

Plant propagation

Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...

 at the Millennium Seed Bank and the type specimen is kept at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Using knowledge gained from this process, other plants have been successfully reintroduced onto the Rock of Gibraltar

Rock of Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is high...

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Silene tomentosa is protected by the law of Gibraltar

Law of Gibraltar

The law of Gibraltar is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law.The English Law Act of 1962 stipulates that English common law will apply to Gibraltar unless overridden by Gibraltar law...

 under the Nature Protection Act, 1991.

Habitat

Silene tomentosa is currently found growing wild only on the rocky outcrops of the Rock of Gibraltar. Specimens are also grown at The Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gardens

The Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gardens

The Gibraltar Botanic Gardens or La Alameda Gardens are a botanical garden in Gibraltar, spanning around . -History:The gardens were founded in 1816 by Governor of Gibraltar General George Don in order to provide a recreational area for the Garrison at the time...

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