Lychnis chalcedonica

2016-04-20T01:15:16Z

Jersey92: /* Cultivation and uses */ Fixed style

{{taxobox
|image = Lychnis chalcedonica B.jpg
|regnum = [[Plant]]ae
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
|unranked_ordo = [[Core eudicots]]
|ordo = [[Caryophyllales]]
|familia = [[Caryophyllaceae]]
|genus = ''[[Lychnis]]''
|species = '''''L. chalcedonica'''''
|binomial = ''Lychnis chalcedonica''
|binomial_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''''Lychnis chalcedonica''''' ('''Maltese-cross''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{cite web |title=BSBI List 2007 |publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland |url=http://www.bsbi.org.uk/BSBIList2007.xls |format=xls |archive-url=http://www.webcitation.org/6VqJ46atN |archive-date=2015-02-25 |accessdate=2014-10-17}}</ref> '''burning love''', '''dusky salmon''', '''flower of [[Bristol]]''', '''Jerusalem cross''','''nonesuch'''; [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Silene chalcedonica'') is a [[species]] of [[flowering plant]] in the [[family (biology)|family]] Caryophyllaceae, native to central and eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwestern China.

==Description==
Growing {{convert|35|-|100|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall with unbranched stems, it is an [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant|perennial]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are produced in opposite pairs, simple broad lanceolate, {{convert|2|-|12|cm|0|abbr=on}} long and 1-5 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are produced in clusters of 10-50 together; each flower is bright red, 1-3 cm in diameter, with a deeply five-lobed corolla, each lobe being further split into two smaller lobes. This forms a general shape similar to that of the [[Maltese cross]] to which it owes one of its common names. The [[fruit]] is a dry [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] containing numerous [[seed]]s.

==Names==
The [[Botanical name#Binary name|specific epithet]] ''chalcedonica'' refers to the ancient town of [[Chalcedon]] in what is now Turkey.<ref name=RHSLG>{{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Lorraine|title=RHS Latin for gardeners|year=2012|publisher=Mitchell Beazley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=9781845337315|pages=224}}</ref>

Numerous [[common name]]s are attached to this plant, including:-
{|
|- valign=top
|
*Burning love
*Common rose campion
*Constantinople campion
*Dusky salmon
*Fireball
*Flower of Bristol<ref name="Nonesuch Bristol">{{cite web |url = http://www.nonesuchexpeditions.com/nonesuch-features/the-nonesuch/nonesuch-flower-of-bristol.htm|title = The Nonesuch: Remarkable Flower of Bristol|quote = }}</ref>
*Flower of Constantinople      
|
*Gardener's delight      
*Gardener's eye
*Great candlestick
*Jerusalem cross
*Knight's cross
*Maltese cross
*Meadow campion
|
*Nonesuch
*Red robin
*Scarlet lightning
*Scarlet lychnis
*Tears of Christ
|}

''L. chalcedonica'' was voted the [[county flower]] of [[Bristol]] in a 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity [[Plantlife]].

==Cultivation and uses==
''Lychnis chalcedonica'' is a popular [[ornamental plant]] in gardens. It has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Lychnis chalcedonica''|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1206|accessdate=22 May 2013}}</ref> Numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected, varying in flower colour from bright red to orange-red, pink or white. It grows best in partial to full sun and in any good well-drained soil, if provided with a constant moisture supply. The flowering period is extended if faded flowers are removed. It is short-lived in poorly drained soil. Double flowered cultivars are propagated by division.

The species can become [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] or even [[invasive species|invasive]] if plants are allowed to set seed; it is naturalised in some parts of [[North America]]. [[Thomas Jefferson]] sowed this plant at [[Monticello]] in 1807.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Lychnis chalcedonica0.jpg
Image:Lychnis chalcedonica1.jpg
Lychnis chalcedonica - flower view.jpg
</gallery>

== References ==
{{commons|Lychnis_chalcedonica|Lychnis chalcedonica}}
{{reflist}}

*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=220007919 Flora of China: ''Lychnis chalcedonica'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=120&taxon_id=220007919 Ornamental Plants From Russia: ''Lychnis chalcedonica'']
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Lychnis&SPECIES_XREF=chalcedonica&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Lychnis chalcedonica'']
*[http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/plant_species/maltese-cross County Flower page on Plantlife website]

[[Category:Caryophyllaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of China]]
[[Category:Flora of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Flora of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Flora of Russia]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]

Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Lychnis chalcedonica