Italian Silene

Description

The Italian Silene ( Silene italica ( L. ) Pers. ) Is a plant belonging to the Caryophyllaceae family . The name Silene (from the Greek sylenos ) derives from the shape of the bulbous goblet of some species , which was compared to the belly of the sileni , demons of the woods and wild nature, with ears, tail and horse-legs. This is a perennial white-tormented plant , 30 to 60 cm tall; the stem is erect, ramose, gracile, pubescent-viscous. The basal leaves are spatulate, the minor, linear cauline; while the inflorescence is wide and sparse. The glass is tightly clad, with obtuse teeth; the corolla is flat, 20 to 25 mm wide; the petals are milky white, deeply bifid, inferiorly veined with red, with spatulate flaps and narrow at the base. It blooms from May to July .