Windmill Fields

Lore & Background

Silene gallica has been in long-term decline, especially in the more northern parts of Europe. In Britain and Ireland, it is no longer present in many inland sites, with a population reduction of 80% in the last ten years reported in 2006. This may be due to changes in agriculture practices. It is listed as a UK Priority Species, and the Great Britain Red Data List ranks it as endangered. The plant has a submediterranean / subatlantic distribution, and in the British Isles it mostly occurs near the coast of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but also sporadically inland. It is found in sandy or gravelly, often acidic, soils in arable fields, on wasteland and on walls, as well as poor dry pastures on the coast, and on sand dunes in the Channel Islands.

In Their Own Story

The story of Silene gallica is one of a once-common roadside weed retreating to coastal strongholds. By 2006, reports indicated an 80% population reduction in the previous ten years across Britain and Ireland. The plant's tubular calyx, coated in long, sometimes glandular, hairs, becomes inflated in fruit, and the fruit is a brown, ovoid capsule with six apical teeth. Each flower has ten stamens and three styles. The opposite, entire, lance-shaped leaves have acute apexes, up to 3.5 cm long on the lower parts of the plant, and smaller on the upper parts. The flowers grow in a terminal inflorescence at the top of the stem, and some appear in the leaf axils.

Reader's Guide

To identify Silene gallica in the field, look for an erect or semi-erect annual herb growing up to 50 cm tall, with branching stems clad in long, curling hairs and shorter, glandular hairs. The flowers have a tubular calyx of fused sepals lined with ten green or purple-red veins, coated in long, sometimes glandular, hairs. The five petals are white, pink or bicolored, spatulate, each with a small appendage at the base. The fruit is a brown, ovoid capsule with six apical teeth. In the British Isles, search near the coast of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, in sandy or gravelly, often acidic, soils in arable fields, on wasteland and on walls, as well as poor dry pastures on the coast, and on sand dunes in the Channel Islands. The plant has been in long-term decline, so sightings inland are now rare.

Did You Know?

• Silene gallica is also known as common catchfly, small-flowered catchfly, and windmill pink.
• The calyx of the flower is lined with ten green or purple-red veins.
• The fruit is a brown, ovoid capsule with six apical teeth.
• In 2006, a population reduction of 80% in the last ten years was reported in Britain and Ireland.
• The Great Britain Red Data List ranks Silene gallica as endangered.