Silene armeria, L.

101. S. armeria L. View in CoL , Sp. Pl. 420 (1753) View Cited Treatment .

Erect glabrous and glaucous annual or biennial with usually simple stems up to 40 cm, viscid above. Basal leaves spathulate, withering early; cauline ovate-cordate to lanceolate, amplexicaul, decreasing gradually upwards. Inflorescence usually corymbose, often densely so. Calyx 12-15 mm, cylindrical-clavate; teeth obtuse. Petal-limb obovate, emarginate, usually pink; coronal scales lanceolate, acute. Capsule 7-10 mm, oblong, equalling or somewhat longer than the glabrous carpophore. • Certainly native in C., S. and parts o f E. Europe; widely cultivated elsewhere and sometimes naturalized. Al Au Bu Co Cz Ga Ge G r He Hs Hu It Ju Lu Po Rm Rs (C, W) Sa?Si Tu [Be Br D a Fe Ho No Su]. Variable in habit, leaf-shape and inflorescence. In E. Europe the wild plant has almost entire petals and has been called S. lituanica Zapal. , Rozpr. Wydz. Mat.-Przyr. Polsk. Akad. Urn. (Biol.) ser. 3, 11 B: 285 (1911). Especially in theE. Mediterranean region, variants with less compact inflorescence occur, which have been called var. serpentini G. Beck and var. sparsiflora Schur. Such plants may deserve subspecific recognition.