Lychnis L.
Perennial herbs. Hairs eglandular and/or glandular, or 0. Lvs opposite, exstipulate, linear to ovate; cauline lvs connate in pairs or sessile and amplexicaul. Infl. a lax to capitate dichasium; bracts leaflike; epicalyx 0. Calyx bell-shaped or cylindric, 10-veined, 5-toothed; commissures veined, not scarious. Petals 5, white to red or purple, clawed, entire or emarginate or laciniate; coronal scales triangular, paired at base of limb. Stamens 10. Styles 5. Fr. an ovoid or cylindric capsule, dehiscing by 5 entire teeth; carpophore short or long. Seeds reniform, laterally flattened, warty, not winged.
Key
c. 15 spp., N. Hemisphere, especially Europe. Naturalised spp. 3.
Shape, venation, and indument of the calyx are useful characters in the identification of Lychnis and Silene. Calyces of all spp. are illustrated in Fig. 52.
