Silene

''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularly in the northern hemisphere.

Scientific history

Members of this genus have been the subject of research by preeminent plant ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and geneticists, including Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Carl Correns, Herbert G. Baker, and Janis Antonovics. Many ''Silene'' species continue to be widely used to study systems, particularly in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.Bernasconi et al. 2009. Silene as a model system in ecology and evolution. Heredity. 103:5-14. PMI
19367316
/ref> The genus has been used as a model for understanding the genetics of sex determination for over a century. ''Silene'' species commonly contain a mixture of hermaphroditic and female (or male-sterile) individuals (gynodioecy), and early studies by Correns showed that male sterility could be maternally inherited, an example of what is now known as cytoplasmic male sterility. Two independent groups of species in ''Silene'' have evolved separate male and female sexes (dioecy) with chromosomal sex determination that is analogous to the system found in humans and other mammals.

''Silene'' flowers are frequently visited by flies, such as '' Rhingia campestris''. ''Silene'' species have also been used to study speciation, host-pathogen interactions, biological species invasions, adaptation to heavy-metal-contaminated soils, metapopulation genetics, and organelle genome evolution. Notably, some members of the genus ''Silene'' hold the distinction of harboring the largest mitochondrial genomes ever identified.

Etymology

''Silene'' is the feminine form of Silenus, an Ancient Greek woodland deity who was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus.

Taxonomy

''Silene'' was originally described by Linnaeus. ''Silene'' is the feminine form of Silenus, a Greek woodland deity. Divisions of the genus into subgenera or sections before 2003 do not seem to be well-supported by molecular evidence.

The genus ''Lychnis'' is closely related to and considered separate from ''Silene'', differing in the flowers having five styles (three in ''Silene''), the seed capsule having five teeth (six in ''Silene''), and in the sticky stems of ''Lychnis''.

Sexual systems

Sexual systems vary across species. Most ''Silene'' species are hermaphroditic representing 58.2% of ''Silene'' species, 14.3% are dioecious, 13.3%   gynodioecious, and 12.2% are both  gynodioecious and   gynomonoecious. Trioecy, andromonoecy, and gynomonoecy have also been reported but are extremely rare.

Species

Ecology

The lychnis is also the common name of '' Hadena bicruris'', a species of noctuid moth. The larva of this moth feeds on ''Silene'' (formerly ''Lychnis'') species, as do some other Lepidoptera including cabbage moth (recorded on ''Silene chalcedonica''), grey chi and case-bearers of the genus '' Coleophora'' including ''C. albella'' (feeds exclusively on ''Silene flos-cuculi'') and ''C. leucapennella''.

Uses

Many species of ''Silene'' are in cultivation for perennial gardens. Some have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, including '' Silene flos-jovis'' and ''Silene schafta''.

'' Silene undulata'' (syn. ''S. capensis'') is known as ''iindlela zimhlophe'' ("white paths") by the Xhosa of South Africa. A Xhosa diviner identifies and collects the plant from the wild. The roots are ground, mixed with water, and beaten to a froth, which is consumed by novice diviners during the full moon to influence their dreams. They also take it to prepare for various rituals. The root has such a strong, musky essence that the diviners who consume it exude the scent in their sweat.Hirst, M. (2005)
Dreams and medicines: The perspective of Xhosa diviners and novices in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
''Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology'' 5(2) 1-22.

'' Silene vulgaris'', or Bladder Campion, is eaten in some Mediterranean countries. Young leaves may be eaten raw, and mature leaves are boiled, fried, stewed or mixed into dishes such as risotto.

Fossil record

†''Silene microsperma'' fossil seeds of the Chattian stage, Oligocene, are known from the Oberleichtersbach Formation in the Rhön Mountains, central Germany.The floral change in the tertiary of the Rhön mountains (Germany) by Dieter Hans Mai - Acta Paleobotanica 47(1): 135-143, 2007.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q116209, from2=Q158863

Caryophyllaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus