Night-flowering Catchfly

Silene noctiflora

"Silene noctiflora" is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene and clammy cockle. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed.
Night-flowering Catchfly (Silene noctiflora)  Geotagged,Silene noctiflora,Summer,United States

Appearance

The night-flowering catchfly is an annual herb producing a hairy, glandular stem up to about 75 or 80 centimeters in maximum height. It is sticky in texture. The hairy, widely lance-shaped leaves grow in opposite pairs and are up to 14 centimeters long and 5 wide, the largest ones located low on the stem. The flowers are nocturnal, and occur in an open cyme of up to fifteen blooms, each borne on an erect pedicel. The flower is encapsulated in a hairy calyx of fused sepals lined with a netlike pattern of veining. The five petals are white to pink and each has two lobes at the tip. They measure up to 2.5 centimeters wide when fully open. The fruit is a yellowish-brown capsule with six chambers which splits open to release the seeds.

Habitat

As night falls the flowers of the night-flowering catchfly open and release a strong fragrance which attracts night-flying moths which feed on the copious nectar and pollinate the plant.

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyCaryophyllaceae
GenusSilene
SpeciesS. noctiflora