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Silene alexandri

Hillebr. (1888)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Caryophyllaceae Genus: Silene

Alexander's catchfly

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Subshrubs 3–6 dm tall.

Stems: Stems erect, essentially glabrous, often swollen at the nodes.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite or whorled. Blades elliptic–oblanceolate, 30–65 mm long, 6–14 mm wide. Apex acuminate. Base leaf bases often connate around the stem. gradually tapering to base. Surfaces glabrous. Margins entire, sparsely ciliate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in open, paniculate cymes, pedicels 10–19 mm long, glabrous. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Calyx tubular, 5– lobed, 19–25 mm long, 10–nerved, glabrous, the lobes rounded, apex notched, margins scarious and sparsely ciliate. Corolla of 5 petals; petals white, blades 8–10 mm long, cleft, exserted 4–6 mm beyond calyx. Stamens exserted beyond calyx. Ovary superior, 1-celled or incompletely 2–4 celled, on a well–developed stipe that is adnate to the staminal filament bases and petal bases (referred to as a carpophore); styles 3; Carpophore 13–17 mm long.

Fruit: Capsules oblong–ovoid; 3–celled in the lower part; ca. 14–16 mm long; dehiscent by 6 or rarely 3 apical teeth or valves; carpophore 13-17 mm long. Seeds unknown.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Rare; known only from remnant dry forest and shrubland.

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

Molokai Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Notes

  • Description digitized by Mercedez
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • Rare, known only from remnant dry forest and shrubland in the valley below Pu'ukolekole and Kamald Gulch, 610-760 m, eastern Moloka'i.
  • This distinctive species is known only from the type collected by Hillebrand, a collection made in 1979 (Stemmermann 3883, BISH), and a collection made in 1981

Bibliography

Name Published In: Fl. Hawaiian Isl.: 28 (1888)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:522 (Mo)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Silene alexandri Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Alexander, O. Molokai BISH
2 Silene alexandri Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Alexander, O. Molokai BISH
3 Silene alexandri Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details On steep W-SW facing rocky slope near gulch bottom. Vegetation: Dodonaea, Sida, Osteomeles, Lipochaeta, Sicyos, Diospyros, Metrosideros, Pleomele, Schiedea, S. lanceolata, Spermolepis, Antidesma, Lepidium, Bidens, Panicum, Eragrostis, Cyperus, Carex, Lantana, Ageratina Preserved_Specimen Oppenheimer, H.L. 40907 Molokai BISH 2009-04-02
4 Silene alexandri Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Alexander, O. Molokai BISH
5 Silene alexandri Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Dodonaea-Styphelia lowland mesic shrubland; Neraudia sericea, Bidens menziesii, Pleomele, Pittosporum. Preserved_Specimen Wood, K.R. 1997 Molokai BISH 1992-07-08
6 Silene alexandri Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Stemmermann, R.L. 3883 Molokai BISH 1979-06-20
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