RAGGED-ROBIN

Silene flos-cuculi

(formerly Lychnis flos-cuculi).
Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae]  

month8May month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8Aug

status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8pink
 
inner
inner8white
 
morph
morph8actino
 
petals
petalsZ5
 5(20)
petals
petalsZcleft petalsZcut
 
stem
stem8round
 

3rd June 2010, ex-quarry pools, North Walney, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
From afar easily mistaken for the more ubiquitous Red Campion.


23rd May 2008, Shell Island, North Wales Coast. Photo: © RWD


17th June 2004, Consall Forge, Caldon Canal. Photo: © RWD
The raggedness of the inflorescences are readily apparent.


23rd May 2008, Shell Island, North Wales Coast. Photo: © RWD
The calyxes are pink with red stripes and 5 pointed teeth.


17th June 2004, Consall Forge, Caldon Canal. Photo: © RWD


22nd June 2009, Storth, near Arnside, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
A newly opened specimen un-ravaged by wind or rain. There are but five petals, but so deeply cut to half-way as to look like twenty.


22nd June 2009, Storth, near Arnside, Lancs. Photo: © RWD



22nd June 2009, Storth, near Arnside, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
There are 5 deeply cleft white inner parts to each flower protruding from the centre.


23rd May 2008, Shell Island, North Wales Coast. Photo: © RWD
Leaves are lanceolate to linear-lanceolate with an acute-angled tip.


Distinguishing feature: the five pinkish petals are deeply cleft into usually untidy narrow strips.

Unlike Red Campion, Ragged-Robin is bisexual with both stamens and styles within the same flower. It is glabrous (without hairs) to sparsely hairy and grows in damp grassy fields, marshes, fens and wet meadows. There is also an albino version, a phenotype where the gene for the pink colouring has been switched off.

The Genus Lychnis is now subsumed within the Genus Silene, thus Ragged Robin is now seen as a Campion.


USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON CATERPILLAR CHRYSALIS BUTTERFLY
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary



  Silene flos-cuculi  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Caryophyllaceae  

Distribution
family8Carnation family8Campion family8Caryophyllacaea
 BSBI maps
genus8Silene genus8Lychnis
Silene
(Campions)

RAGGED-ROBIN

Silene flos-cuculi

(formerly Lychnis flos-cuculi).
Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae]  

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