Plants perennial; caudices woody.
Stems erect, (10)20–60 cm, branches few, puberulent, glandular-viscid above.
Leaves basal spatulate or oblanceolate, 3–8 cm × 2–14 mm, densely tufted or not, not fleshy; cauline in 2–4 pairs, narrowly oblanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 2–8 cm × 2–8 mm, abruptly reduced upward, not overlapping pedicels.
Inflorescences terminal, open cymes, not 1-sided, or flowers solitary; pedicels > calyx, glandular-viscid.
Flowers bisexual, ascending to erect; calyces campanulate, inflated in fruit, 13–14 mm, glandular-hairy, prominently 10-veined, netted above, pale commissures present, veins in lobes not thickened or broader than commissural veins, commissural veins fork above and fuse with veins in lobes, lobes 2–3 mm, tips acute to rounded-obtuse; petal claws glabrous; appendages 2(4); limbs 5–7 mm, white, often green- or purple-tinged, lobes(2)4, 2 inner > outer; stamens equaling petal claws or barely exserted; styles 3(5), exserted.
Fruits narrowly ovoid, teeth 3(5), splitting to 6, 8 or 10; stalks 2–3 mm.
Seeds 1.5–2.5 mm, brown, not winged.
2n=48, 96.
Grassy meadows, rocky areas. Flowering Jun–Aug. 1400–2600 m. BW, ECas. ID, WA; north to AK, northeast to Alberta, east to WY, southeast to UT. Native.
Silene parryi can sometimes be confused with S. douglasii, S. grayi, and small plants of S. scouleri.
as described under Silene parryi
Plants perennial; taproot thick; caudex branched, woody, with tufts of basal leaves. Stems erect, simple, (10-)20-60 cm, softly puberulent, viscid-glandular distally. Leaves mostly basal; basal petiolate, blade oblanceolate, spatulate, 3-8 cm × 2-14 mm, not fleshy, margins shortly ciliate, apex ± acute, glabrous to puberulent on both surfaces; cauline usually in 2-4 pairs, blade narrowly oblanceolate, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 0.2-0.8 cm × 10-80 mm, not fleshy, puberulent on both surfaces, at least distal ones glandular. Inflorescences (1-)3-7-flowered, open, bracteate; bracts linear-lanceolate, broadened at base, 2-10 mm. Pedicels ascending, usually longer than calyx, puberulent, viscid stipitate-glandular. Flowers: calyx prominently 10-veined, campanulate, inflated, ± umbilicate, not or only slightly constricted toward base, (10-)12-16 × 7-9 mm in fruit, glandular-pubescent, strongly viscid, veins parallel, purplish, with pale commissures, not much broadened distally, commissural veins slender, forked distally and fused to those of lobes, lobes ovate to broadly triangular with lanceolate midrib, 2-3 mm, margins purple tinged, broad, membranous; corolla white, often tinged green or purple, clawed, claw equaling calyx, glabrous, broadened distally, limb deeply 2-lobed, rarely 4-lobed, 5-7 mm, lobes with 2 prominent lateral teeth, appendages 2(-4), 1.5-2 mm; stamens equaling calyx; stigmas 3(-5), exserted. Capsules included in calyx, opening by 3(-5) teeth, each tardily splitting into 2; carpophore 2-3 mm. Seeds brown, not winged, broadly reniform and often flattened, 1.5-2.5 mm, rugose to shallowly tuberculate on sides, larger tubercules on margins. 2n = 48, 96.Flowering summer. Mountains, gravelly ridges, rocky and grassy slopes, subalpine meadows, grassy openings in montane forests; 1500-3000 m; Alta., B.C.; Idaho, Mont., Oreg., Wash., Wyo.Silene parryi is very similar to S. douglasii, but the latter is normally eglandular with a characteristic short, gray, retrorse pubescence. The two species may hybridize, accounting for the occurrence of populations of S. douglasii with some glandular pubescence in the inflorescence. Silene parryi is closely related also to S. scouleri, but the latter is normally readily distinguished by its pink flowers; taller stature; long, narrow, many-flowered inflorescences; and fusiform fruiting calyces that are constricted around the carpophore. However, some depauperate specimens of S. scouleri from montane habitats are difficult to place. Also, small plants of S. parryi from alpine habitats can easily be mistaken for S. grayi. The anthers of S. parryi are often smutted with Microbotryum violaceum (Persoon) G. Deml & Oberwinker [= Ustilago violacea (Persoon) Roussel], e.g., in the type collection of S. tetonensis.