Silene longipetala  Vent.

Family: Caryophyllaceae

General Appearance

Silene longipetala Vent., it is a perennial, procumbent to erect, up to 85 cm tall herb, with a branched woody rootstock. Stem tickened at the nodes, retrorsely hairy below, glabrescent and viscid glandulose on inflorescence and younger shoots. Leaves with 1-3 cm long petiole, oblong-obovate or oblanceolate below, upper linear-lanceolate, attenuate, 3-7 x 1-3 cm, acute, grey-green. Flowers white, c. 1.5 cm across, in a large divaricately branched panicle bearing lax dichasia with the terminal flower distinctly overtopped by lateral 2-brncted branches; pedicels glabrous, usually as long as calyx, deflexed; bracts lanceolate glabrous. Calyx tube obconical at anthesis, (7-) 8-12 mm long, slightly inflated and turbinate or piriform in fruit with a constriction below the apex, 10-nerved, nerves green, glabrous; teeth ovate, 2-2.5 mm long, obtuse, white and ciliate on margins. Petal limb obovate-cuneme. c. 7 mm long, ± deflexed. 2-partite into linear-oblong lobes: claws not or sub exserted, finely ciliate on margins at the base; coronal scaks triangular-ovate, indistinct. obtuse. Stamens 10, filaments filiform, 5 long exserted and 5 included or slightly exserted, ciliate at the base; anthers oblong, c. 2 mm long, brownish. Ovary oblong, longer than the stipe; style filiform, basally ciliate, exserted. Capsule ovoid, 7-10 mm long, included in the calyx; carpophore 2-4 mm long, retrorsely pubescent. Seeds rounded-reniform. ± 2 mm long, plane or ± concave on faces, obtusely grooved on the back, finely wrinkled.   

Life Form

H

Phytochoria

MED+IT. The native range of this species is E. Greece to Iran and Egypt.

Distribution in Libya

Zliten-Misurata Plain:  Misurata (Yeder) 2008

Benghazi Plain:  Reported from Benghazi by Durand & Barratte

Jabal Nafusa:  Reported from Gharian by Durand & Barratte

Al-Jabal Al-Akhder:  Reported from Derna, Wadi Naga, Marabut at Sidi Kahlik by Durand & Barratte

Al-Jufra area:  Zella 2008

First: Encyclopedia Flora of Libyan:

Jafri, S.M.H. & El-Gadi, A. (1978) Flora of Libya, Caryophyllaceae Vol. (59) Department of Botany, Al-Faateh Univ., Tripoli, Libya. Page. 63.

Second: Researches and PhD theses, master theses, Sorted by Newest:

Baayo, Kh. A. (2008): Floristic composition and Phytochorological Analysis of Misratah area, Libya, Assiut Univ.J. of Botany 37(2), P-P. 33-78 (2008).

Baayo, Kh. A. (2008) Floristic composition of Sahara Area in Libya. Catrina (2008), 3(3):37-53. https://www.academia.edu/105539352/Floristic_composition_of_Sahara_Area_in_Libya

Floristic composition of Sahara Area in Libya 2008

Prodr. Fl. Ciren.: 199 (1931).  https://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/records/item/14218-prodromo-della-flora-cirenaica

Piantae Tripol. : 82 (1914).

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