Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Sweet William Catchfly - Atocion armeria   (L.) Rafinesque
Members of Caryophyllaceae:
Only member of Atocion in NC.
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Section 6 » Family Caryophyllaceae
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Author(L.) Rafinesque
DistributionMostly the Mountains; also Robeson and Brunswick counties in the southern Coastal Plain.

Native of Europe; in N.A. -- N.S. to Ont. and MN, south to FL, KY, and MO; also B.C. to CA and UT.
AbundanceUncommon to infrequent in the Mountains; rare in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
HabitatRoadsides, fields, pastures, base of cliff.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-October.
IdentificationThis species has a simple stem or a few stems together, 8-16 inches tall and glaucescent. The leaves are lance-shaped to nearly spatulate, pointed. The flowers are in flat-topped clusters terminally and from upper axils of the leaves; rich pink to rosy, the 5 petals barely notched -- looking somewhat "phlox-like".
Taxonomic CommentsLong known as Silene armeria.

Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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US Status
USACE-agcp
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B.A. SorrieField, Round Pond, ME, 1980s. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
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