Naked Catchfly

Description

Silene aperta-is a rare species of flowering plant in the-pink family-known by the common names-naked catchflyand-Tulare campion. It is-endemic-to-Tulare County, California, where it is known only from the-coniferous forests-of the-High Sierra Nevada. It is a perennial herb growing from a woody, branching-caudex-sending up several erect stems up to about 60 centimeters tall. The lower leaves are linear in shape, up to 12 centimeters long but less than one wide. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller. The flower has a hairy, tubular calyx of fused-sepals-with ten veins. The calyx is open at the top, revealing five white or yellow-green petals each 1 to 2 centimeters long.