# Silene acaulis

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Species of flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

Silene acaulis Silene acaulis in Svalbard, Norway Conservation status Secure (NatureServe)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Caryophyllaceae Genus: Silene Species: S. acaulis Binomial name Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq.

***Silene acaulis***, known as **moss campion**[2] or **cushion pink**, is a small [wildflower](/source/Wildflower) that is common all over the high arctic and tundra and in high mountains of Eurasia and North America ([Alps](/source/Alps), [Carpathians](/source/Carpathian_Mountains), southern [Siberia](/source/Siberia), [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees), [British Isles](/source/British_Isles), [Iceland](/source/Iceland), [Faroe Islands](/source/Faroe_Islands), [Greenland](/source/Greenland), [Rocky Mountains](/source/Rocky_Mountains)). It is an evergreen perennial [flowering plant](/source/Flowering_plant) in the carnation family [Caryophyllaceae](/source/Caryophyllaceae).

It is also called the **compass plant**, since the flowers appear first on the south side of the cushion.[3] ([Various other plants](/source/List_of_plants_known_as_compass_plant) also have this name.)

## Description

Moss campion is a low, ground-hugging plant. It may seem densely matted and moss-like.[4][5] The dense cushions are up to a foot or more in diameter. The bright green [leaves](/source/Leaves) are narrow, arising from the base of the plant. The dead leaves from the previous season persist for years, and pink flowers are borne singly on short stalks that may be up to 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) long, but are usually much shorter.

It usually has pink flowers, though very rarely they may be white.[4] The flowers are solitary and star-shaped. The flowers are female, male or hermaphrodite.[6] They are between 6–12 millimetres (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) wide, with [hermaphrodite flowers](/source/Hermaphrodite_flower) being larger than the female ones.[7] Female flowers produce better quality seeds than hermaphrodites[8] and male flowers produce better quality pollen than hermaphrodites.[9] The cushions can change the gender of their flowers between years.[10] Gender frequencies change with altitude, the frequency of female flowers increasing with higher elevation.[7] They usually appear in June through August.[11] The flowers are held by a calyx which is rather firm and thick.[12]

The sepals are joined together into a tube that conceals the bases of the petals, which are entire. The 10 stamens and 3 styles extend well beyond the throat of the flower.[13] The stems and leaves are very sticky and viscid, which may discourage ants and beetles from climbing on the plant.[12] The variety *exscapa* has shorter flowering stems. The other variety *subacaulescens,* from Wyoming and Colorado, has pale pink flowers all summer.[11]

Plants in Colorado have been estimated to reach 75 to 100 years in age, and Alaskan plants may reach 300 years. The oldest known moss campion is 350 years old and has a diameter of two feet.[14]

## Gallery

		- Bird's eye view, [Svalbard](/source/Svalbard)

		- Scattered in Svalbard

		- Flower tops

		- Close-up of flowers

## Distribution and habitat

[USDA](/source/USDA) North American distribution of *Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq.*

Moss campion is common all over the high arctic and the higher mountains of Eurasia and North America (south to the [Alps](/source/Alps), [Carpathians](/source/Carpathian_Mountains), southern [Siberia](/source/Siberia), [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees), [British Isles](/source/British_Isles), [Iceland](/source/Iceland), [Faroe Islands](/source/Faroe_Islands), [Rocky Mountains](/source/Rocky_Mountains)). In the United States it inhabits Colorado, the [Bighorn Mountains](/source/Bighorn_Mountains) of Wyoming, the [Wallowa Mountains](/source/Wallowa_Mountains) of Oregon, the [Olympics](/source/Olympic_Mountains), the northern [Cascades](/source/Cascade_Range) of Washington, and Alaska.[11]

Range:

- USA (AK, AZ, CO, ID, ME, MT, NH, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)

- CAN (AB, BC, LB, NF, NS, NT, NU, ON, QC, SK, YT)

- DEN (GL), FRA (SPM)

It inhabits [alpine fellfield](/source/Alpine_fell-field), on windswept rocky ridges and summits above treeline. It grows mainly in dry, gravelly localities, but also in damper places. With the cushions it produces its own, warmer climate with higher temperatures inside, when the sun shines.[14]

## Ecology

In Maine it is possibly extirpated,[15] and in New Hampshire *Silene acaulis var. exscapa* is threatened.[15]

Experimental warming has been shown to start flowering substantially earlier than control cushions experiencing ambient temperature. Both the male and female phases developed faster in the OTCs and capsules (fruits) matured earlier, and the cushions produced more mature seeds and had a higher seed/ovule ratio contributing to an overall positive reproductive response.[16] However, a study on four populations across a latitudinal gradient in North America showed that southern populations of moss campion had lower survival and recruitment, but higher individual growth, rates than more northern populations. Furthermore, vital rates such as growth, survival, and fruits per area were shown to increase in moderately warmer years yet declined in the very warmest years, suggesting that a change in climate into warmer conditions or more frequent unusually warm summers may eventually lead to negative impacts.[17] Another study showed that, while the short term responses were positive, they turned negative on medium-term, suggestion that moss campion may be at risk in future global warming.[18] Projections produced under different climate scenarios suggest that *S. acaulis* will likely face climate-driven fast decline in suitable areas on the British Isles and across North America, and that upward and northward shifts to occupy new climatically suitable areas are improbable in the future.[19][20]

## Cultivation

The seeds should be sown early in the spring time. Put the seedlings into separate pots, and it is recommended to let them winter in the greenhouse for their first winter season. It is advised to plant them in the late spring or early summer because division takes place in the spring. They should be grown in well-drained soil with full sun. The climate can be cool.[21]

## Toxicity

There is no listing that moss campion is toxic, though it does have saponins which, though toxic, are hard to absorb in the body. They can be broken down by thorough cooking. Its advised to not consume large amounts of this plant.

## Uses

The plant used to be used for children with [colic](/source/Colic).[21] The raw root skin plants were consumed as a vegetable in Iceland and in Arctic regions.[21]

## See also

- [Flora of Svalbard](/source/Flora_of_Svalbard)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NatureServe_1-0)** NatureServe (2024). ["*Silene acaulis*"](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.130177/Silene_acaulis). Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 19 January 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BSBI07_2-0)** [*BSBI List 2007*](https://web.archive.org/web/20150626140254/http://www.bsbi.org.uk/BSBIList2007.xls) (xls). [Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland](/source/Botanical_Society_of_Britain_and_Ireland). Archived from [the original](https://bsbi.org/download/3542/) (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["The terrestrial vegetation in Svalbard"](http://www.arcticsystem.no/en/arctic-inc/vegetation.html).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Weber_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Weber_4-1) Weber, William A. (1987). *Colorado Flora. Western Slope*. Boulder, CO: Colorado Associated University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780870811678](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780870811678).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Revel_5-0)** Revel, RichardD (1980). ["A rare form of silene acaulis L.(moss campion) from british columbia"](http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic33-1-203.pdf) (PDF). *Arctic*. **33** (1): 203–203.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Morris W, Doak D (June 1998). ["Life history of the long-lived gynodioecious cushion plant *Silene acaulis* (Caryophyllaceae), inferred from size-based population projection matrices"](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2446413). *American Journal of Botany*. **85** (6): 784–793. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2446413](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2446413). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2446413](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2446413). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [21684962](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21684962).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-sex_ratio_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-sex_ratio_7-1) Alatalo, Juha M.; Molau, Ulf (July 1995). "Effect of altitude on the sex ratio in populations of *Silene acaulis* (Caryophyllaceae)". *Nordic Journal of Botany*. **15** (3): 251–256. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1756-1051.1995.tb00150.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1756-1051.1995.tb00150.x).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Shykoff, Jacqui A. (1988). "Maintenance of gynodioecy in *Silene acaulis* (Caryophyllaceae): Stage specific fecundity and viability selection". *American Journal of Botany*. **75** (6): 844–850. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2444003](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2444003). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2444003](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2444003).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Alatalo, Juha M.; Molau, Ulf (August 2001). "Pollen viability and limitation of seed production in a population of the circumpolar cushion plant, *Silene acaulis* (Caryophyllaceae)". *Nordic Journal of Botany*. **21** (4): 365–372. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1756-1051.2001.tb00780.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1756-1051.2001.tb00780.x).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Alatalo, Juha M. (June 1997). "Gender lability in trioecious *Silene acaulis* (Caryophyllaceae)". *Nordic Journal of Botany*. **17** (2): 181–183. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1756-1051.1997.tb00307.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1756-1051.1997.tb00307.x).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Alpine_Plants_of_North_America_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Alpine_Plants_of_North_America_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Alpine_Plants_of_North_America_11-2) Nicholls, Graham, and Rick Lupp. Alpine Plants of North America: an Encyclopedia of Mountain Flowers from the Rockies to Alaska. Portland: Timber, 2002.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Land_above_the_Trees_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Land_above_the_Trees_12-1) Zwinger, Ann, and Beatrice E. Willard. Land above the Trees: a Guide to American Alpine Tundra. Boulder, CO: Johnson, 1996.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Phillips, W (1999). Central Rocky Mountain Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers, Shrubs, and Trees. Falcon Publishing, Inc.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-The_Naturalist's_Guide_to_the_Southern_Rockies_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-The_Naturalist's_Guide_to_the_Southern_Rockies_14-1) Benedict, Audrey D. The Naturalist's Guide to the Southern Rockies: Colorado, Southern Wyoming, and Northern New Mexico. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Pub., 2008.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SIAC_15-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SIAC_15-1) ["*Silene acaulis* (L.) Jacq. – moss campion"](https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SIAC). *PLANTS Profile*. USDA. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20060511143245/http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SIAC) from the original on 2006-05-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Alatalo, J.M.; Totland, Ø. (December 1997). "Response to simulated climatic change in an alpine and subarctic pollen‐risk strategist, *Silene acaulis*". *Global Change Biology*. **3** (S1): 74–79. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1997GCBio...3S..74A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997GCBio...3S..74A). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1365-2486.1997.gcb133.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2486.1997.gcb133.x). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [85793935](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:85793935).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Doak, Daniel F.; Morris, William F. (October 2010). "Demographic compensation and tipping points in climate-induced range shifts". *Nature*. **467** (7318): 959–962. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2010Natur.467..959D](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010Natur.467..959D). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/nature09439](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature09439). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [20962844](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20962844). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [4309240](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4309240).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Alatalo, Juha M.; Little, Chelsea J. (March 2014). ["Simulated global change: contrasting short and medium term growth and reproductive responses of a common alpine/Arctic cushion plant to experimental warming and nutrient enhancement"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4000594). *SpringerPlus*. **3** (1): 157. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1186/2193-1801-3-157](https://doi.org/10.1186%2F2193-1801-3-157). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [4000594](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4000594). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [24790813](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24790813).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Ferrarini, Alessandro; Alsafran, Mohammed H. S. A.; Dai, Junhu; Alatalo, Juha M. (2019). "Improving niche projections of plant species under climate change: *Silene acaulis* on the British Isles as a case study". *Climate Dynamics*. **52** (3–4): 1413–1423. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2019ClDy...52.1413F](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ClDy...52.1413F). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s00382-018-4200-9](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00382-018-4200-9). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0930-7575](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0930-7575). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [133659980](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:133659980).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Ferrarini, Alessandro; Dai, Junhu; Bai, Yang; Alatalo, Juha M. (2019). "Redefining the climate niche of plant species: A novel approach for realistic predictions of species distribution under climate change". *Science of the Total Environment*. **671**: 1086–1093. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2019ScTEn.671.1086F](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ScTEn.671.1086F). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.353](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.scitotenv.2019.03.353). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0048-9697](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0048-9697). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [109744378](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:109744378).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sileneacaulis_21-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sileneacaulis_21-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Sileneacaulis_21-2) ["Silene acaulis Moss Campion PFAF Plant Database"](http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Silene+acaulis).

## External links

- [https://berryprairie.blogspot.com/2011/08/now-in-bloom-moss-campion.html](https://berryprairie.blogspot.com/2011/08/now-in-bloom-moss-campion.html)

- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120118031459/http://www.arkive.org/moss-campion/silene-acaulis/#text=Description](https://web.archive.org/web/20120118031459/http://www.arkive.org/moss-campion/silene-acaulis/#text=Description)

- [http://www.northlandartsnatureimages.com/Nature/Flora-Fungii/15415805_879xmS/8/1371808898_dHVxchK#1371808898_dHVxchK](http://www.northlandartsnatureimages.com/Nature/Flora-Fungii/15415805_879xmS/8/1371808898_dHVxchK#1371808898_dHVxchK)

- [How to grow moss campion](https://web.archive.org/web/20120425022012/http://www.aplantshome.com/encyclopedia/pda_fc1a.html)

- [Effects of Human Population on moss campion](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000632077090008X)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Silene acaulis](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Silene_acaulis).

Taxon identifiers Silene acaulis Wikidata: Q1339103 Wikispecies: Silene acaulis BioLib: 60976 CoL: 4XBJV EoL: 588670 EPPO: SILAC EUNIS: 167102 FNA: 250060827 GBIF: 5384754 GRIN: 401845 iNaturalist: 68886 IPNI: 60452326-2 IRMNG: 10587320 ITIS: 20041 NatureServe: 2.130177 NBN: NBNSYS0000002992 NCBI: 39862 Observation.org: 122286 Open Tree of Life: 637571 PalDat: Silene_acaulis PfaF: Silene acaulis PFI: 839 Plant List: kew-2485026 PLANTS: SIAC POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60452326-2 RHS: 17314 Tropicos: 6300199 VASCAN: 4367 WFO: wfo-0000438305 Cucubalus acaulis Wikidata: Q21872928 CoL: 6BNRW GBIF: 5588026 GRIN: 401848 IPNI: 152878-1 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:152878-1 Tropicos: 50234353 WFO: wfo-0000628622

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Silene acaulis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silene_acaulis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silene_acaulis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.