Difference between revisions of "Lychnis chalcedonica"
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Latest revision as of 01:01, 17 May 2026
Lychnis chalcedonica (Maltese-cross,<ref name=BSBI07>Template:Cite web</ref> burning love, dusky salmon, flower of Bristol, Jerusalem cross,nonesuch; syn. Silene chalcedonica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to central and eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwestern China.
Description
Growing Template:Convert tall with unbranched stems, it is an herbaceous perennial. The leaves are produced in opposite pairs, simple broad lanceolate, Template:Convert long and 1-5 cm broad. The flowers 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 containing numerous seeds.
Names
The specific epithet chalcedonica refers to the ancient town of Chalcedon in what is now Turkey.<ref name=RHSLG>Template:Cite book</ref>
Numerous common names are attached to this plant, including:-
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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>Template:Cite web</ref> Numerous cultivars 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 naturalised or even 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
- Lychnis chalcedonica0.jpg
- Lychnis chalcedonica1.jpg
- Lychnis chalcedonica - flower view.jpg
