Evening Campion (Silene nivea)
Description
1 to a few stalked flowers mostly arising from the upper leaf axils. Flowers are white, about - inch across with 5 widely spreading petals that are notched at the tip, but not very deeply divided. A short, white, ruffled appendage is attached to the petal at the mouth of the central tube. The 10 stamens and a 3-parted style barely extend out of the tube.[photo of calyx] The calyx is about - inch long, light green with obscure veins and a dimple at the base where the stalk is attached that can make it look flattened from the side. At the tip are 5 triangular lobes. The calyx and flower stalk are smooth to variously hairy.[photo of leaves] Leaves are 2 to 4 inches long, 1/3 to 1 1/3 inches wide, lance-elliptic, toothless, hairless to minutely hairy, sharply pointed at the tip, wedge shaped to rounded at the base, stalkless or nearly so. The largest leaves are near mid-stem, the lowest leaves typically withering away by flowering time. Leaf nodes are slightly swollen, the opposite leaf bases joining around the stem, and may be reddish. Stems are smooth to minutely hairy, slender and weak, often supported by surrounding vegetation.[photo of developing fruit] The calyx inflates as fruit matures, becoming more bell-shaped. Fruit is an oval to round capsule about as long as the calyx. When ripe it splits open at the tip, the 6 teeth flaring out. Inside are kidney-shaped seeds, brownish black with a grayish bloom.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Caryophyllales
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Family: Caryophyllaceae
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Genus: Silene
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