Silene serpentinicola
Encyclopedia
Silene serpentinicola is a rare species of flowering plant in the pink family
known by the common name serpentine Indian pink and serpentine catchfly. It was described to science in 2004. It is currently known only from Del Norte County, California
, where it is an endemic of the serpentine soil
s of the Smith River
basin. It probably also occurs north of the border in Oregon
. It is a resident of chaparral
and coniferous forest habitat among other serpentine endemics.
This is a small rhizomatous
perennial herb growing up to 10 or 15 centimeters tall. The paired leaves are gray-green in color, spatula-shaped, and up to 4.5 centimeters long, mostly crowded along the short stems. The inflorescence
is a terminal cyme at the top of the stem containing 1 to 4 flowers. Each flower is borne on a short, glandular pedicel
. The flower has a hairy, purplish calyx of sepal
s which is tubular, inflated and lined with ten veins. The corolla is about 3 centimeters wide and bright red in color. Each of the five petals is divided into two lobes which are each subdivided into two narrower lobes. The long stamen
s and three styles
protrude from the flower's center.
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 serpentine Indian pink and serpentine catchfly. It was described to science in 2004. It is currently known only from Del Norte County, California
Del Norte County, California
Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California on the Pacific adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 28,610. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. Del Norte is the abbreviated...
, where it is an endemic of the serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s of the Smith River
Smith River (California)
The Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States, approximately long. It drains a rugged area of the Pacific Coast Ranges west of the Siskiyou Mountains just south of the Oregon border and north of the watershed of the Klamath River. The catchment area is...
basin. It probably also occurs north of the border in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. It is a resident of 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 coniferous forest habitat among other serpentine endemics.
This is a small rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial herb growing up to 10 or 15 centimeters tall. The paired leaves are gray-green in color, spatula-shaped, and up to 4.5 centimeters long, mostly crowded along the short stems. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a terminal cyme at the top of the stem containing 1 to 4 flowers. Each flower is borne on a short, glandular pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. The flower has a hairy, purplish calyx of 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 tubular, inflated and lined with ten veins. The corolla is about 3 centimeters wide and bright red in color. Each of the five petals is divided into two lobes which are each subdivided into two narrower lobes. The long stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and three styles
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
protrude from the flower's center.