SPECIES DESCRIPTION
SILENE ANTRI-JOVIS
Family:- CARYOPHYLLACEAE
Common Names:- None
Synonyms:- Silene fruticulosa, Silene saxifraga subsp. fruticulosa.
Meaning:- Silene (Gr) A name used by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus for
catchfly.
Antri-jovis (L) Of the Ideon Andron (Zeus' cave).
General description:- A mat- or cushion-forming perennial plant with a more or
less woody base.
Stems:-
1) 5-10(-18) cm. Numerous, slender, viscid unbranched.
Leaves:-
1) Surface sometimes rough-slightly hairy, oblanceolate, the larger 2-4mm wide.
Flowers:-
1) Pedicels 8-20 mm.
2) Calyx 10-13 mm.
4) Petal divided at the tip in two by a median cleft to halfway into narrow,
parallel-sided lobes.
purplish brown on the reverse.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule 5-8 mm, equalling or only slightly longer than the anthophore.
Key features:-
1) Calyx 10-13 mm.
2) Anthophore 4-7 mm.
Habitat:- Rocky limestone slopes with open shrubby vegetation and open
Cupressus woodland. (200-)900-2000 m. sometimes in shady places.
Distribution:- Endemic to the mountains of central and eastern Crete, from Mount
Siderotas (south-west of Kedros) eastward to the Afendis Kavousi range. Rare.
Flowering time:- May-July.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
Anthophore. plural -s. : A stalk-like extension of the receptacle on which the pistil
and corolla are borne.
Calyx:- A Collective name for the sepals - the outer whorl of organs in most
flowers.
Capsule:- Dry fruit that opens when ripe. splitting from the apex to the base into
separate segments known as valves.
Glabrous:- Without hairs, hairless.
Oblanceolate:- Inversely lanceolate, broadest towards the apex and tapering to
the stalk.
Pedicel:- The stalk of an individual flower.
Petal:- The inner perianth segments when they clearly differ from the outer.
Petal-limb:- An enlarged upper part of the petals
Viscid:- Sticky.
