Silene baccifera (L.) Roth

Foodplant / parasite
hypophyllous telium of Puccinia arenariae parasitises live leaf of Cucubalus baccifer

Foodplant / parasite
telium of Puccinia behenis parasitises live, cultivated Cucubalus baccifer

Wu Zhengyi (editor’s note) prefers to treat this species as a distinct, monotypic genus ( Cucubalus ), on account of its fleshy, baccate, irregularly dehiscent fruit, which is unique in the Caryophyllaceae.

Silene baccifera is used medicinally.

Herbs perennial. Roots white, long fusiform, cross section yellow. Stems and branches spreading, 50--150 cm. Petiole 3--5 mm; leaf blade ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or narrowly elliptic, 1.5--5(--13) × 0.8--2(--4) cm, papery, both surfaces hairy at veins, base attenuate, margin entire, ciliate, apex acuminate. Flower slightly nutant. Pedicel hairy. Calyx broadly campanulate, 9--11 mm; calyx teeth ovate-triangular, nearly as long as tube, ciliolate, revolute in fruit. Androgynophore ca. 1.5 mm. Petals oblanceolate, ca. 15 × 2.5 mm; claw long, narrow; limb 2-fid. Stamens and styles included. Fruit black, globose, 6--8 mm, fleshy, irregularly dehiscent. Seeds black, ca. 1.5 mm. Fl. Jun--Aug, fr. Jul--Oct. 2n = 24.

Forest margins, scrub, grasslands. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bhutan, Japan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Korea, Nepal, Russia, Sikkim; Europe].

Cucubalus baccifer Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 414. 1753; C. baccifer var. angustifolius L. H. Zhou; C. baccifer var. cavaleriei H. Léveillé; C. baccifer var. japonicus Miquel.

Silene baccifera flowers

Silene baccifera is a plant species of the genus Silene of the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Europe, but is also widespread in temperate regions of Asia and North Africa.