''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), the ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

. It is native to Eurasia and Siberia and has been introduced to North America.

Description

''Silene flos-cuculi'' forms a rosette of low growing foliage with numerous stems tall. The stems rise above the foliage and branch near the top of the stem. The leaves are paired, with the lower leaves spoon-shaped and stalked. The middle and upper leaves are linear-lanceolate with pointed apexes. All of the leaves are untoothed. The stems have barbed hairs pointing downward and these hairs make the plant rough to the touch. Blooming from May to August (and occasionally later), the pink flowers are wide. They have five narrow petals deeply divided into four lobes giving the flower an untidy, ragged appearance, hence its common name. The

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tube is five-toothed with ten

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. The fruits consist of small (6 to 10 mm) capsules opening on top by five teeth and containing many small seeds; they are found on the plants from August onward.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...

s and pastures. It has also become naturalized in parts of the northern United States and eastern Canada.

Ecology

Butterflies and long-tongued bees feed on the flowers' nectar. In addition to these pollinators, the flowers are visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized

pollination syndrome Pollination syndromes are suites of flower traits that have evolved in response to natural selection imposed by different Pollination, pollen vectors, which can be abiotic (wind and water) or biotic, such as birds, bees, flies, and so forth thro ...

. In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common.

Cultivation

Popular garden

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s include: * 'Alba' – white-flowered form * = 'Lychjen' * 'Nana' – dwarf form (4 inches) with smaller leaf rosettes and shorter flower stems * 'Petite Jenny' * 'White Robin'

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q19849678, from2=Q21038 flos-cuculi Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus