Biology
provided by Arkive
Small-flowered catchfly is an annual plant; germination typically occurs in autumn, but occasionally in spring and so the plant can be present in both spring and winter crops (2). The species is sensitive to cold winters however, and seedlings are unable to survive in temperatures lower than 10°C (2).
Conservation
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This plant is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, and as such, a Species Action Plan has been produced to guide the conservation of the species. Plantlife, the wild plant conservation charity is the lead partner for this species (8). The Species Action Plan aims to maintain the current range of small-flowered catchfly, and aid the return of the species to at least eight former sites before the year 2003 (3). Furthermore, it has been proposed that an ex-situ population be established (2).
Description
provided by Arkive
The small-flowered catchfly is covered in soft hairs and has small narrow leaves and pinkish flowers that are arranged in loose groups called inflorescences and tend to point in the same direction (1). The common name refers to the fact that the plant is sticky, so much so that small flies can become fastened to the leaves or stem (1).
Habitat
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Inhabits cultivated and disturbed ground, typically arable fields on acidic sandy or gravelly soils, wasteland, and old walls. It is also found in open coastal grassland, and sand dunes in the Channel Islands (7).
Range
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This plant was once a common feature throughout the UK and the range extended as far north as Scotland. Following a severe decline the species now occurs mainly in the south and west of England and Wales (2). Elsewhere it occurs in central and southern Europe, but has largely become extinct in northern Europe (2).
Status
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Classified as Nationally Scarce in Great Britain (2).
Threats
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Like many arable 'weed' species, the decline of this plant is the result of widespread changes in agricultural practices, including the use of chemical fertilisers and herbicides, the loss of field-margins, earlier harvesting which denies the plants an opportunity to produce seeds, and the introduction of intensively competitive crops (2). At coastal sites, a further threat can arise from the pressures of tourism and other recreational pursuits (2).
Distribution in Egypt
provided by Bibliotheca Alexandrina LifeDesk
Oases and Mediterranean region.
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- BA Cultnat
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- Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Global Distribution
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Atlantic Islands, Europe, North Africa West Asia, Temperate regions.
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- BA Cultnat
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- Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Description
provided by eFloras
Plants annual; taproot slender. Stems erect, branched, rarely simple, 15-45 cm, with long, often crinkled hairs mixed with short pubescence, viscid-glandular distally. Leaves 2 per node, blade with coarse, ascending, scabrous pubescence on both surfaces; basal few, withering, blade oblanceolate to spatulate-petiolate, 0.5-5 cm × 3-15 mm; cauline blades oblanceolate to lanceolate, 1-7 cm × 1-15 mm, apex obtuse or shortly acuminate to acute. Inflorescences open, with racemose branches, internodes and bracts usually ca. equaling fruiting calyx, 1-5 mm, longer proximally. Flowers 5-8 mm diam.; calyx prominently 10-veined, narrowly tubular-ovoid in flower, ovoid in fruit, constricted at mouth, 7-10 × 3-5 mm, membranous between veins, margins dentate, hispid, hairs ca. 2 mm, veins parallel, lobes lanceolate, 2-2.5 mm, apex greenish purple, acute; petals white or pink, often with dark spot or dark pink throughout, clawed, claw equaling calyx, limb elliptic to obovate, lobed or unlobed, to 6 mm, appendages 2, oblong to narrowly lanceolate, 1-1.5 mm; stamens equaling or shorter than calyx; stigmas 3, included in calyx. Capsules equaling calyx, opening with 6 recurved, narrowly triangular teeth; carpophore shorter than 1 mm, pubescent. Seeds dark reddish brown, reniform, angular with concave, radially ridged faces, broad outer edge transversely ridged and verrucose, ca. 0.5 mm broad. 2n = 24.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Distribution
provided by eFloras
introduced; B.C., N.B., N.S., Ont., P.E.I.; Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Fla., Idaho, La., Maine, Mass., Miss., Mo., N.H., N.Y., N.C., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tex., Wash.; Europe; introduced worldwide.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Flowering/Fruiting
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Flowering spring-early summer.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Habitat
provided by eFloras
Dry, open places, sandy and gravelly ground, roadsides, waste land; 0-2000m.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Synonym
provided by eFloras
Silene anglica Linnaeus; S. quinquevulnera Linnaeus
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Silene gallica
provided by wikipedia EN
Silene gallica is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by several common names, including common catchfly,[1] small-flowered catchfly,[2] and windmill pink. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it can be found throughout much of the temperate world as a common roadside weed.
Description
Silene gallica is an erect or semi-erect annual herb growing up to 50 cm (20 in) tall, its branching stem clad in long, curling hairs and shorter, glandular hairs. The opposite, entire, lance-shaped leaves have acute apexes, are up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) long on the lower parts of the plant, and smaller on the upper parts. The flowers grow in a terminal inflorescence at the top of the stem, and some appear in the leaf axils. Each flower has a tubular calyx of fused sepals lined with ten green or purple-red veins. The calyx is coated in long, sometimes glandular, hairs and becomes inflated in fruit. There are five white, pink or bicolored, spatulate petals, each with a small appendage at the base. There are ten stamens and three styles. The fruit is a brown, ovoid capsule with six apical teeth.[3]
Distribution and habitat
Native to Europe, this species has a submediterranean / subatlantic distribution. In the British Isles it mostly occurs near the coast of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but also sporadically inland. It is found in sandy or gravelly, often acidic, soils in arable fields, on wasteland and on walls, as well as poor dry pastures on the coast, and on sand dunes in the Channel Islands.[4]
Status
This plant has been in long-term decline, especially in the more northern parts of Europe, and is no longer present in many inland sites in Britain and Ireland, with a population reduction of 80% in the last ten years reported in 2006. This may be due to changes in agriculture practices, or it may perhaps be affected by climate change. It is listed as a UK Priority Species, and the Great Britain Red Data List ranks it as endangered.[5]
References
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^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Silene gallica". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
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^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
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^ Mohlenbrock, Robert H. (2001). Flowering Plants: Pokeweeds, Four-o'clocks, Carpetweeds, Cacti, Purslanes, Goosefoots, Pigweeds, and Pinks. SIU Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-8093-2380-7.
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^ "Silene gallica". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
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^ Forbes, Ralph. "Silene gallica – small-flowered catchfly". Northern Ireland Priority Species. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
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Silene gallica: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Silene gallica is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by several common names, including common catchfly, small-flowered catchfly, and windmill pink. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it can be found throughout much of the temperate world as a common roadside weed.
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