This section is from the book "An Illustrated Flora Of The Northern United States, Canada And The British Possessions Vol2", by Nathaniel Lord Britton, Addison Brown. Also available from Amazon: An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 Volume Set..
Fig. 1811
Silene conica L. Sp. Pl. 418. 1753.
Annual, canescent or puberulent; stems solitary, or several together, erect, commonly forked above, 6'-24' high. Leaves linear-lanceolate, acute, sessile, 1 1/2' long, or less, about 1 1/2" wide; inflorescence cymose; flowers I-several; pedicels 1/4'-1' long; calyx ovoid, rounded or truncate at the base, densely about 30-nerved, about 8" long, its teeth triangular-subulate; petals rose or purple, obcordate; capsule oblong-ovoid, distending the calyx and nearly equalling it.
Dartmouth Massachusetts, and Clyde, Ohio. Adventive or naturalized from Europe. June-July.
Fig. 1812
Silene Armeria L. Sp. Pl. Ed. 2, 601. 1762.
Annual, erect, branching, glabrous and glaucous, or minutely puberulent, about I° high, glutinous below each node. Basal leaves ob-lanceolate, 2-3' long, obtuse; stem-leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 1' - 3' long, acute or obtuse; inflorescence a terminal compact compound cyme; flowers purple or pink, 6"-8" broad; calyx club-shaped, 5"-8" long, slightly enlarged by the ripening pod; pedicels about 1" long; petals emarginate, crowned with narrow scales.
In waste places and spontaneous in gardens, New Brunswick and Ontario to Michigan south to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Introduced from Europe. Pretty-Nancy, Sweet-Susan. Nonc-so-pretty. Old-maid's- or mice pink. Dwarf French-pinks. Wax-plant. Mock sweet-william. Limewort- or garden-catchfly. June-July.
Fig. 1813
Silene noctiflora L. Sp. Pl. 419. 1753.
Annual, stout, viscid-pubescent, simple, or branching, 1°-3° high. Lower and basal leaves obovate or oblanceo-late, 2-5' long, obtuse, narrowed into a broad petiole; upper leaves sessile, ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 1'-3' long; flowers few, pedicelled, white or pinkish, 8"-12" broad, in a loose dichotomous panicle; calyx 10"-15" long, tubular, 10-nerved and beautifully veined, much enlarged by the ripening pod, its teeth linear, acute; petals 2-cleft.
In waste places, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Manitoba, Montana, Florida, Missouri and Utah. Adventive from Europe. Flowers opening at dusk and remaining so until the morning of the next day, fragrant. July-Sept.
Fig. 1814
Silene anglica L. Sp. Pl. 416. 1753. Silene gallica L. Sp. Pl. 417. 1753.
Annual, hirsute-pubescent, stem slender, usually erect, simple or branched, 1°-2° high. Leaves spatulate or oblanceolate, 6"-2' long, obtuse, sometives mucronate, narrowed into a margined petiole, or the upper ones narrower and acute; flowers in a terminal simple I-sided spicate raceme, nearly sessile or the lower ones distant and longer-pedicelled, sometimes all distinctly pedicelled; calyx cylindric or oblong-tubular in flower, 10-nerved, villous, 4"-5" long, much enlarged by the ripening pod and becoming ovoid with a contracted throat, its teeth lanceolate, spreading; petals toothed, entire or somewhat 2-cleft, white, somewhat longer than the calyx.
In waste places, Maine to Ontario, southern New York, Pennsylvania and Missouri. Adventive from Europe. Extensively naturalized as a weed on the Pacific Coast, and widely distributed in nearly all warm-temperate regions. Has been mistaken for S. nocturna L. April-July.
 
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