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Silene flos-cuculi
Species of flowering plant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Silene flos-cuculi (syn. Lychnis flos-cuculi), the ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.[1][2] It is native to Eurasia and Siberia [3] and has been introduced to North America.
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Description
Silene flos-cuculi forms a rosette of low growing foliage with numerous stems 30 to 90 centimetres (12 to 35+1⁄2 inches) tall. The stems rise above the foliage and branch near the top of the stem.[4] The leaves are paired, with the lower leaves spoon-shaped and stalked.[citation needed] The middle and upper leaves are linear-lanceolate with pointed apexes. All of the leaves are untoothed. The stems have barbed hairs pointing downward and these hairs make the plant rough to the touch.[4]
Blooming from May to August (and occasionally later), the pink flowers are 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) wide. They have five narrow petals deeply divided into four lobes giving the flower an untidy, ragged appearance, hence its common name. The calyx tube is five-toothed with ten stamens.
The fruits consist of small (6 to 10 mm) capsules opening on top by five teeth and containing many small seeds; they are found on the plants from August onward.
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Distribution and habitat
The species is native to Europe and Asia,[1] where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and pastures. It has also become naturalized in parts of the northern United States and eastern Canada.[5]
Ecology
Butterflies and long-tongued bees feed on the flowers' nectar. In addition to these pollinators, the flowers are visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized pollination syndrome.[6]
In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common.
Cultivation
Popular garden cultivars include:
References
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