Carnivorous Plants |
Carnation & Campion (Pink) Family [Caryophyllaceae] |
status
flower
inner
inner
morph
petals
petals
deeplystem
smell
fragrantrarity
sex
27th May 2011, Redcliff, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Covering quite an area! |
27th May 2011, Redcliff, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
A mass of plants. Their leaves below. |
27th May 2011, Redcliff, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
With so many plants in close proximity it is not easy to see what's what here. But the petals of these specimens have indeed curled up in daylight (which is more than can be said for the following specimens in North Wales). |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers are supposed to have open petals at night and closed during daytime, but obviously these specimens need their clocks resetting ;-) Grows to 70cm high. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The stems are more or less erect. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The calyx (the striped red/green things) are 9 to 12mm long (the otherwise similar Italian Catchflyhas longer calyx at 14-21mm long). |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
It is fond of geometry with angled junctions at every opportunity, the junctions having a couple of short bracts. The flowers are droopy. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Close to the centre of the flower are a number of short white acute-triangular scales (these scales are small and 'knob-like' on the otherwise very similar Italian Catchfly) |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
There are 5 petals, but each is deeply cleft. In the daytime they roll up like a carpet but at night they open out. These seem confused. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Just left of centre a spent flower is shedding the calyx to reveal a long (at the moment green) fruit capsule. |
27th May 2011, Redcliff, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
These specimens seem to have a much longer white flower tube than the ones your Author saw on the Great Orme. They must be at a different stage in their life. The 3 long red styles are prominent. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The stems and flower stalks of plant is covered in a mass of short sticky glandular hairs (with a tiny bobble (the gland) at their tips). The 3 long purple-tinged projections are styles. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
5 of the filaments are very long, the other 5 very short and contorted keeping near to the centre of the flower. They have greenish turning to fawn T-bar anthers. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
There are 10 of the short white acute-triangular scales at the centre of Nottingham Catchfly. [Some contorted stamens aka filaments have lost their anthers]. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The stems are sticky with many short glandular hairs. Leaves oval of variable shape but no teeth. |
Could be mistaken for : Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris) or White Campion (Silne latifolia) but look at the inflated calyxes and the colour of the calyx to easily dismiss these.
Some similarities to :
Catchflys, Campions and Ragged Robin all come under the Silene genus, but there are subtle differences between them. The Catchflys usually have flowers that open at night and emanate a sweet smell to attract flies, moths or other insects. The insects get stuck onto the sticky stem made sticky by the glandular hairs which exude a sticky substance. But catchflys are not true They grow in bare or dry grassy places and also on cliffs, rocks or shingle. They are a fairly rare [RR] and occur scattered in on the South Coast, in the Nottingham area, and North Wales and in the Peak District. |
Silene | nutans | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Caryophyllaceae |
Silene (Campions) |
Carnation & Campion (Pink) Family [Caryophyllaceae] |