Family |
Caryophyllaceae
Silene baccifera
(L.) Durande
Silene baccifera (L.) Durande
First published in Fl. Bourgogne 1: 260 (1782).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, pp. 505–506, Pl. CLXXVI, 4; 1966)
Description
Life-form & habit: Hairy perennial with several spreading, four-angled stems that scramble through shrubs and may reach 2 m.
Leaves: Ovate and hairy, with short stalks.
Inflorescence & flowers: Branching, leafy clusters of three-flowered cymes. The hairy calyx has triangular teeth; spreading, yellowish-white petals are narrow and spatulate, deeply divided into two lobes, with a small tooth on either side near the base.
Fruit: Rounded, berry-like, indehiscent fruit, about four times as long as its supporting stalk. Seeds are shiny, with inconspicuous tubercles.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering June–July.
Habitat & elevation: Slightly damp places.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Ksara, Haouch Mouallaqa, Wadi el Arayech and Chebaa.
Syrian distribution: Arne on Mount Hermon.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Assam, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, East Himalaya, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Krym, Kuril Is., Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, North Caucasus, Northwest European Russia, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Primorye, Romania, Sakhalin, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Xinjiang.
Introduced into: Great Britain.
Kew lists Algeria separately as extinct.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde treats this species as Cucubalus baccifer L., a synonym of Silene baccifera accepted by Kew.