About Silene salmonacea T.W.Nelson, J.P.Nelson & S.A.Erwin
Silene salmonacea is a rare, recently formally described species of flowering plant in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae). It has two common names: Klamath Mountain catchfly and salmon-flowered catchfly. This species is only found in Trinity County, California, where it grows in forest habitats of the southern Klamath Mountains, and it is part of the local serpentine soils flora. It is a small perennial herb that reaches only a few centimeters in height. Its leaves are spoon-shaped, and can grow up to 3.5 centimeters long. The above-ground plant tissue is gray-green in color and has a lightly woolly texture. Each flower produces a tubular calyx made of fused sepals, which is marked with ten veins. Each flower has five salmon pink petals, and each petal tip is split into four lobes. Currently, this plant is found at just six locations, with two of these locations hosting fewer than five individual plants.
