Silene tomentosa

Silene tomentosa, the Gibraltar campion, is a very rare[1] flowering plant of the genus Silene and the family Caryophyllaceae. It is a woody-based perennial about 40 cm high, with bilobed flowers ranging from pink to pale violet and is endemic to Gibraltar.[1]

Silene tomentosa
Silene tomentosa flower at the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Silene
Species:
S. tomentosa
Binomial name
Silene tomentosa
Otth

Re-discovery and conservation
S. tomentosa plant at the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.

Although the scientific community outside Gibraltar already thought Silene tomentosa to be extinct, the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society's botanical section knew it was still around in 1985, but by 1992 they also considered it to be extinct.[2]

It was later re-discovered in 1994, when it was found growing in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.[1] Following this re-discovery, it was propagated at the Millennium Seed Bank and the type specimen is kept at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London.[3] Using knowledge gained from this process, other plants have been successfully reintroduced into the Upper Rock Nature Reserve on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Silene tomentosa is protected by the law of Gibraltar under the Nature Protection Act, 1991.[4]

Habitat

Silene tomentosa is currently found growing wild only on the rocky outcrops of the Rock of Gibraltar. Specimens are also grown at Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.

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See also

References
  1. Gibraltar Flora Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Saving Silene
  3. Millennium Seed Bank Project
  4. Nature Protection Act, 1991
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