Astragalus gilviflorus

Silene latifolia

White Cockle

Male Plant
Petal and Adjacent Stamens

Marcelin, Saskatchewan
17-Aug-2010

There is a stamen on either side of each petal and a stamen opposite each petal, for a total of ten. This picture illustrates the stamens on either side of the petal. The stamen opposite the petal has been removed.

There is an auricle on each side of the junction of the claw and the limb. One of the two auricles is commonly reflexed. There are also two scales on the ventral surface of the junction.

Note that Budd's Flora recognized two related genera - Silene and Lychnis - and it called this species Lychnis alba. Today Lychnis is subsumed in a larger Silene. Therefore the answers separating Silene from Lychnis have been removed from the answers leading to the genus and added to the answers leading to the species.

Latifolia: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this species.

styles 5; NOT [styles usually 3]

capsule 1-celled to base; NOT [capsule usually divided into partitions at base]

petals large, much protruding beyond the calyx; NOT [petals small, not or little protruding beyond the calyx]

calyx enlarging in fruit; NOT [calyx not or little enlarging]

flowers of different sexes on separate plants; NOT [flowers perfect]

Silene: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus.

plants NOT with woody base

calyx without bracts; NOT [calyx with 1-3 pairs of bracts below]

sepals united part way, forming a tube; NOT [sepals entirely separate]

lobes of sepals NOT over 20 mm long; NOT [sepals with long, leaf-like lobes, over 20 mm long]

petals usually present; NOT [petals absent]

petals clawed; NOT [petals lacking claws]

styles 3-5; NOT [styles2]

styles alternate with the petals; NOT [styles opposite the petals]

ovary stipitate

fruit dehiscent; NOT [fruit indehiscent]

fruit several-seeded; NOT [fruit 1-seeded]

Caryophyllaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.

herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

plants terrestrial or semiaquatic; NOT [plants aquatic, leaves submerged or floating]

terrestrial plants; NOT [mud plants with small axillary flowers]

plants NOT with colored milky juice

plants with more than one normal leaf

leaves opposite, whorled, or basal; NOT [some or all leaves alternate]

leaves NOT glandular-dotted

plants without large petal-like bracts; NOT [plants with an involucre of 4 petal-like bracts]

flowers with two floral rings, and with each petal distinct from the others

sepals more than 2; NOT [sepals 2]

stamens NOT united at base; NOT [stamens united at base into 3-5 bundles]

styles 2 or more; NOT [styles single]