Editing Silene

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image=Silene dioica Crozon 060416w.jpg
|image_caption=''[[Silene dioica]]'' (red campion)
|taxon=Silene
|authority=[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|subdivision_ranks=Species
|subdivision=See [[list of Silene species|list of ''Silene'' species]]
|synonyms={{collapsible list |
*''Acubalus'' <small>Neck.</small>
*''Alifiola'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Anotites'' <small>Greene</small>
*''Behen'' <small>Moench</small>
*''Behenantha'' <small>Schur</small>
*''Carpophora'' <small>Klotzsch</small>
*''Charesia'' <small>E.A.Busch</small>
*''Cheiropetalum'' <small>Fr. ex Urb.</small>
*''Coccyganthe'' <small>(Rchb.) Rchb.</small>
*''Conosilene'' <small>Fourr.</small>
*× ''Coromelandrium'' <small>Graebn.</small>
*× ''Coromelandrum'' <small>Graebn.</small>
*''Coronaria'' <small>Guett.</small>
*''Corone'' <small>Hoffmanns. ex Steud.</small>
*''Cucubalus'' <small>L.</small>
*''Diplogama'' <small>Opiz</small>
*''Ebraxis'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Elisanthe'' <small>Rchb.</small>
*''Evactoma'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Exemix'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Floscuculi'' <small>Opiz</small>
*''Flox'' <small>Adans.</small>
*''Gastrocalyx'' <small>Schischk.</small>
*''Gastrolychnis'' <small>(Fenzl) Rchb.</small>
*''Hedona'' <small>Lour.</small>
*''Kaleria'' <small>Adans.</small>
*''Leptosilene'' <small>Fourr.</small>
*''Lychnanthos'' <small>S.G.Gmel.</small>
*''Lychnidia'' <small>Pomel</small>
*''Lychnis'' <small>L.</small>
*× ''Lychnisilene'' <small>Cif. & Giacom.</small>
*''Melandrium'' <small>Röhl.</small>
*''Muscipula'' <small>Ruppius ex Fourr.</small>
*''Neoussuria'' <small>Tzvelev</small>
*''Oberna'' <small>Adans.</small>
*''Oncerum'' <small>Dulac</small>
*''Otites'' <small>Adans.</small>
*''Peschkovia'' <small>(Tzvelev) Tzvelev</small>
*''Petrocoma'' <small>Rupr.</small>
*''Petrosilene'' <small>Fourr.</small>
*''Physocarpon'' <small>Neck. ex Raf.</small>
*''Physolychnis'' <small>Rupr.</small>
*''Pleconax'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Polyschemone'' <small>Schott, Nyman & Kotschy</small>
*''Schischkiniella'' <small>Steenis</small>
*''Scribaea'' <small>Borkh.</small>
*''Silenanthe'' <small>Griseb. & Schenk</small>
*''Sofianthe'' <small>Tzvelev</small>
*''Uebelinia'' <small>Hochst.</small>
*''Ussuria'' <small>Tzvelev</small>
*''Viscago'' <small>Zinn</small>
*''Wahlbergella'' <small>Fr.</small>
*''Xamilenis'' <small>Raf.</small>
 }}
|synonyms_ref={{r|powo}}
}}

'''''Silene''''' is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Caryophyllaceae]]. Containing nearly 900 species,{{r|powo}} it is the largest genus in the family.<ref name="fna" /> Common names include '''campion''' and '''catchfly'''. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularly in the northern hemisphere.<ref name="fna" />

==Scientific history==
{{Further|Sex determination in Silene}}
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.<ref name="Bernasconi-2009">Bernasconi et al. 2009. Silene as a model system in ecology and evolution. Heredity. 103:5-14. PMID [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19367316 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,<ref>Correns C. 1906. Die vererbung der Geshlechstsformen bei den gynodiocischen Pflanzen. Ber. Dtsch Bot. Ges. 24: 459–474.</ref><ref>Correns C. 1908. Die rolle der mannlichen Keimzellen bei der Geschlechtsbestimmung der gynodioecishen Pflanzen. Ber. Dtsch Bot. Ges. 26A: 626–701.</ref> 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 [[Sex determination in Silene|chromosomal sex determination]] that is analogous to the system found in humans and other mammals.<ref>Evolution of Sex Chromosomes: The Case of the White Campion. PLoS Biol 3(1): e28. [[doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030028]]</ref><ref>Mrackova M. et al. 2008. Independent origin of sex chromosomes in two species of the genus ''Silene''. 179(2): 1129–1133. PMID [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18558658 18558658]</ref>

''Silene'' flowers are frequently visited by flies, such as ''[[Rhingia campestris]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1111/plb.12328| pmid=25754608| title=Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers| journal=Plant Biology| volume=18| issue=1| pages=56–62| year=2015| last1=Van Der Kooi | first1=C. J.| last2=Pen | first2=I.| last3=Staal | first3=M.| last4=Stavenga | first4=D. G.| last5=Elzenga | first5=J. T. M.| url=https://research.rug.nl/files/78585910/Competition_for_pollinators_and_intra_communal_spectral_dissimilarity_of_flowers.pdf}}</ref> ''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.<ref name="Bernasconi-2009" /> Notably, some members of the genus ''Silene'' hold the distinction of harboring the largest mitochondrial genomes ever identified.<ref>Sloan DB et al. 2012. Rapid Evolution of Multichromosomal Genomes in Flowering Plant Mitochondria with Exceptionally High Mutation Rates. PLoS Biol. 10: e1001241. [http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001241 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001241]</ref>

==Taxonomy==
''Silene'' was originally described by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]].{{r|powo}} Divisions of the genus into subgenera or [[Section (botany)|sections]] before 2003 do not seem to be well-supported by molecular evidence.{{r|fna}}

The genus ''Lychnis'' is closely related to (and sometimes included in) ''Silene''.{{r|felychnis}}{{r|foclychnis}} When treated as a distinct genus, it can often be differentiated by the number of flower [[Style (botany)|styles]] (five in ''Lychnis' and three in ''Silene''), the number of teeth of the seed capsule (five in ''Lychnis' and six in ''Silene''), and by the sticky stems of ''Lychnis''.

=== Sexual systems ===
[[Sexual system]]s vary across species. Most ''Silene'' species are [[Hermaphrodite|hermaphroditic]] representing 58.2% of ''Silene'' species, 14.3% are [[Dioecy|dioecious]], 13.3%&nbsp;[[Gynodioecy|gynodioecious]], and 12.2% are both gynodioecious and&nbsp;[[gynomonoecious]]. [[Trioecy]], [[Andromonoecious|andromonoecy]], and [[Gynomonoecious|gynomonoecy]] have also been reported but are extremely rare.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Casimiro-Soriguer|first1=Inés|last2=Buide|first2=Maria L.|last3=Narbona|first3=Eduardo|date=2015-01-01|title=Diversity of sexual systems within different lineages of the genus Silene|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plv037|journal=AoB Plants|volume=7|issue=plv037|pages=plv037|doi=10.1093/aobpla/plv037|pmid=25862920|issn=2041-2851|pmc=4433491}}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
''Silene'' is the feminine form of [[Silenus]], an Ancient Greek woodland deity who was a companion and tutor to the wine god [[Dionysus]].<ref>Quattrocchi, U. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names''. 1999. '''4''': 2482. {{ISBN|0-8493-2678-8}}</ref>

== Species ==
{{Main|List of Silene species{{!}}List of ''Silene'' species}}

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

==Uses==
Many species of ''Silene'' are in cultivation for perennial gardens.{{r|bhg}} Some have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]], including ''[[Silene flos-jovis]]'' and ''[[Silene schafta]]''.{{r|rhsagm}}

''[[Silene undulata]]'' (syn. ''S. capensis'') is known as ''iindlela zimhlophe'' ("white paths") by the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] of [[South Africa]]. A Xhosa [[Divination|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 [[dream]]s. 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.<ref name=xhosa>Hirst, M. (2005). [http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ipjp/article/view/65600 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.</ref>

''[[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==
Fossil ''Silene microsperma'' seeds from the [[Chattian]] stage of the [[Oligocene]] have been found in the Oberleichtersbach Formation in the [[Rhön Mountains]] of central [[Germany]].<ref>The floral change in the tertiary of the Rhön mountains (Germany) by Dieter Hans Mai - Acta Paleobotanica 47(1): 135-143, 2007.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=bhg>{{cite web |title=Silene |url=https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/perennial/silene/ |website=Better Homes & Gardens |access-date=4 August 2020 |language=EN}}</ref>
<ref name=felychnis>[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Lychnis&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=Flora Europaea: ''Lychnis'']</ref>
<ref name=fna>{{cite web | url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=130349 | title=36. ''Silene'' Linnaeus | work=[[Flora of North America]] }}</ref>
<ref name=foclychnis>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=119133 Flora of China: ''Lychnis'']</ref>
<ref name=powo>{{cite web |title=''Silene'' L. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331962-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |access-date=4 August 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=rhsagm>{{cite web |title=Results > Search for AGM plants / RHS Gardening |url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/agm/Award2.asp?User2=Hrb&crit=silene |website=apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=4 August 2020}}</ref>
}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q116209|from2=Q158863}}
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[[Category:Silene| ]]
[[Category:Caryophyllaceae genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]