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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. <b>Calyx</b> tubular, 5– lobed, 19–25 mm long, 10–nerved, glabrous, the lobes rounded, apex notched, margins scarious and sparsely ciliate. <b>Corolla</b> 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 Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN k. r. wood 6036 Molokai US 2/27/1997
2 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Cultivated. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Tim Flynn 7426 Kauai PTBG 3/18/2009
3 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Dodonaea-Styphelia lowland mesic shrubland; Neraudia sericea, Bidens menziesii, Pleomele, Pittosporum. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Wood, K.R. 1997 Molokai BISH 7/8/1992
4 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information 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. H40907 Molokai BISH 4/2/2009
5 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Alexander, O. s.n. Molokai BISH
6 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Lowland to Montane Mixed Mesic Forest. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN K. R. Wood 2890 Molokai PTBG 12/8/1993
7 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Dodonaea- Styphelia Lowland Mesic Shrubland. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN K. R. Wood 1997 Molokai PTBG 7/8/1992
8 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Leptecophylla - - Dodonea shrubland. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Natalia Tangalin 652 Molokai PTBG 12/28/2005
9 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information In Dodonaea-Styphelia lowland mesic shrubland. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Steve Perlman 12864 Molokai PTBG 7/8/1992
10 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Metrosideros- Dodonaea-Styphelia Lowland Mesic Shrubland; steep 310 deg. north facing walls. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN K. R. Wood 6036 Molokai PTBG 2/27/1997
11 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Lowland to Montane Mixed Mesic Forest. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN K. R. Wood 2891 Molokai PTBG 12/8/1993
12 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Wood, K. R.; Perlman, S. P. 1997 Molokai US 7/8/1992
13 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN k. r. wood & s. p. perlman 1997 Molokai US 7/8/1992
14 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Wood, K. R. 6036 Molokai US 2/27/1997
15 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information Dodonaea-Styphelia lowland mesic shrubland; Neraudia sericea, Bidens menziesii, Pleomele, Pittosporum. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN wood, k.r. perlman, s. collector number: 1997 Molokai BISH 7/8/1992
16 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Stemmermann, R.L. RLS 3883 Molokai BISH 6/20/1979
17 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN alexander, o. collector number: s.n. Molokai BISH
18 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN alexander, o. collector number: s.n. Molokai BISH
19 Silene alexandri Hillebr. Contact Bishop Museum Botany department for locality information PRESERVED_SPECIMEN stemmermann, r.l. collector number: ls3883 Molokai BISH 6/20/1979
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