Silene ovata
Ovate-leaved Catchfly (Silene ovata Pursh) is a herbaceous plant in the plant family Caryophyllaceae. This perennial plant grows up to 1.5 m tall and has large opposite leaves 5-12 cm long, 2-5 cm wide and numerous white flowers with an tube.[1]
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Flowering
Jones[2] lists the blooming season from June to September, but the photographs on this page were taken on November 11,2011 where the adult plants are known to persist through the winter after they have died. That is, the species can be identified in the field year round.
Range
While unknown in Florida, it occurs in most of the southeastern United States from Mississippi and Arkansas (where it occurs only in eight counties in the Ozark region[3]), north into southern Illinois and Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia.[4]. The plants have a limited distribution range wide as indicated by their global G3 status.
Habitat
A flora of Kentucky lists the species as occuring in "dry to mesic forests"[2] while the flora of North Carolina lists the habitat as "rich woods."[1] The photographs document the Arkansas habitat of rich north facing slopes on limestone/dolomite along the White River where it is found on rocky bluffs and talus above the main floodplain of the river and below the rocky ridges.
Chromosome count
2n = 48. [5]
Conservation status
- Alabama
- Arkansas Threatened.
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky Threatened.
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Virginia
References
- ^ a b Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles, and C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, p.448
- ^ a b Jones, R. L. 2005. Plant Life of Kentucky: An Illustrated Guide to the Vascular Flora. The University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, p. 320.
- ^ "Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission website". Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission website. 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "USDA plants website". USDA Plants Website. 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ Smith, E. B. 1988. An Atlas and Annotated List of the Vascular Flora of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Department of Botany, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, p. 32.