Silene cambessedesii Boiss. & Reut.

Spice Flower In the field 1 In the field 2

Family: CARYOPHYLLACEAE

Genus: Silene

Sinònims: Silene littorea Brot subsp. nana (Cambess.) O.Bolòs et Vigo, S.

Catalan common name: Molinet.

Province distribution: Balearic Islands. València.

Distribution in the islands: Ibiza. Formentera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): West Mediterranean

Plants protected by law: Balearic Catalogue.

IUCN Category: VUVulnerable

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Terophyte.

Habitats: Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Rocky coastlines. Beaches and dunes, sandy soils.

Characteristics: From the beginning of spring, on the beaches of the Pitiüses (Eivissa and Formentera) we can find a short, herbaceous plant with large, pink flowers with five bilobulate petals and a long, narrow calyx: it is Silene cambessedesii; another characteristic feature is the fact that it has opposite leaves, the stem and leaves are reddish, and it is enterily covered with glandulous hairs which make it sticky. It cannot be mistaken for any other species on the Islands (it belongs to the group Silene littorea which is native to the western Mediterranean coasts), Silene pseudoatocion has similar flowers but it lives in garrigues (Mediterranean woodland) (in the Balearics only known in the mountains of Artà) and therefore in a very different habitat.