Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Silene stellata
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Starry Campion at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silene stellata
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Silene stellata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-17-001:
Silene stellata FAMILY Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silene stellata
COMMON NAME:
Starry Campion, Widow's-frill
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sist_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm090726_202
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers have an inflated, bell-shaped calyx, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090726_207
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Unusual for this genus, most of its leaves are in whorls of 4, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_595
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_608
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
COMPARE
leaves of Indian Cucumberroot, Starry Campion, Whorled Coreopsis and Loosestrife
)
JK Marlow jkm230720_4568
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230720_4596
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_silene_stellata_1563
July Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Keith Bradley kab_silene_stellata_1668
July Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm080802_096
August Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The lanceolate stem leaves are mostly in whorls of 4, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190801_0374
August Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Clearly 5-parted flowers with fimbriate petals 10-20mm long, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm210824_2991
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Calyx campanulate, sepals united, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0509j_31
September Transylvania County NC
Silver Run Preserve
Panicle open, elongate; pedicels glabrous or puberulent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm230907_5388
September Greenville County SC
Greenville Watershed
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Silene stellata
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silene stellata
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Silene stellata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-17-001:
Silene stellata
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silene stellata
1382
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Dry to mesic forests, rock outcrops, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Midstem leaves whorled, lowest or uppermost opposite
FLOWER:
Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed campanulate calyx
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Usually bisexual
Inflorescence a panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p257
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p171
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p122
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p260
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p363
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p136
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p068
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p153
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p057
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p080
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p037
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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