Nottingham Catchfly

Appearance

''Silene nutans'' is a diploid, mainly outcrossing, herbaceous, perennial plant. It grows up to 25–80 centimetres tall, from a branching, woody stock with a thick taproot.

The lower leaves are up to 75 millimetres long, spathulate and have a long stalk, while leaves higher on the plant are lanceolate, subsessile and acute; all the leaves are covered in soft hairs. The flowers are 18 millimetres wide, 12 millimetres long, and drooping, on short, viscid stalks. The petals are white or pinkish and divided into two narrow lobes.

Each flower remains open for three nights as a means of preventing self-fertilisation; the flower reveals one whorl of stamens on the first night, the second whorl of stamens on the second night, and the three styles on the third night. The seeds are 10–22 millimetres wide and kidney-shaped.

Distribution

''Silene nutans'' is widespread across Europe, from southern Spain and Italy north to the British Isles and Scandinavia, and is also found across large parts of Asia. It has been introduced to North America, where it is known as the Eurasian catchfly. It is found in the U.S. states of Michigan, Ohio, New York, Vermont and Maine.

''Silene nutans'' can sometimes be found in the very widespread MG1 community of the British National Vegetation Classification, and thus can be found where ''Arrhenatherum elatius'' or ''Dactylis glomerata'' occur.

Habitat

''Silene nutans'' flowers during the night, and produces a strong floral scent to attract its pollinators, which are mostly night-flying moths. Chemical compounds in the scent include benzyl acetate and benzaldehyde.

''Silene nutans'' is the host plant for the leaf mining moth ''Coleophora galbulipennella''.