Kuckucks-Lichtnelke
Silene flos-cuculi
Summary 6
Lychnis flos-cuculi, commonly called Ragged Robin, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is species is native to Europe, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and pastures. In Britain it has declined in numbers because of modern farming techniques and draining of wet-lands and is no longer common. However, Lychnis flos-cuculi has become naturalized in parts of the northern United States and eastern Canada and has been listed as...
Description 7
Lychnis flos-cuculi forms a rosette of low growing foliage with numerous flower stems 20 to 90 cm tall. The stems rise above the foliage and branch near the top of the stem and end with the pink flowers which are 3-4 cm across. The flowers have five narrow petals deeply divided into four lobes giving the flower an untidy, ragged appearance, hence its common name. The calyx tube is five-toothed with ten stamens. The leaves are paired, with the lower leaves spoon-shaped and stalked. The middle and upper leaves are linear-lanceolate with pointed apexes. All of the leaves are untoothed. The stems have barbed hairs pointing downward and these hairs make the plant rough to the touch. Ragged Robins bloom from May to August, occasionally later, and butterflies and long-tongued bees feed on the flowers nectar. The fruits consist of small (6-10 mm) capsules opening on top by five teeth and containing many small seeds, they are found on the plants from August onwards.
Associations 8
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / pathogen
embedded sorus of Microbotryum violaceum infects and damages live anther of Lychnis flos-cuculi
Plant / resting place / within
puparium of Ophiomyia melandricaulis may be found in stem mine of Lychnis flos-cuculi
Taxon biology 9
Ragged robin (see picture) is fairly common along roadsides and wet fields. Its latin name Lychnis flos-cuculi, as well as many of its foreign names, makes a reference to the cuckoo bird. Some people say that the flower blossoms when the first cuckoo is heard. But that's not necessarily the case. The name really refers to the froth often found on the plant. It was believed to be spit from the cuckoo. However, the froth is made by the meadow spittlebug during its nymph stage. The red and white campions and the ragged robin are common wild flowers, which sometimes cross-pollinate.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Ettore Balocchi, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/29882791@N02/8303690543/
- (c) AnneTanne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/78746377@N00/2494741495
- (c) helen.2006, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/helen61/4777620359/
- (c) Michael Wunderli, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/56006259@N06/7560764922/
- (c) Sicco2007, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/sicco/5828231582/
- Adapted by Bea Steinemann from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychnis_flos-cuculi
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychnis_flos-cuculi
- (c) BioImages, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22910380
- (c) Copyright Ecomare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22757922
