Although there is a tendency in Caryophylloideae towards pollination by Lepidoptera (Ellis & Ellis-Adam, 1993; Jürgens et al., 1996), all work to date has shown that many species are visited by a taxonomically wide range of species, including butterflies, moths, hawkmoths, bees, beetles, wasps, flies, and especially in the Mediterranean we find a high number of selfing species (Meusel & Mühlberg, 1979; Jürgens et al., 1996, 2002a).

In an analysis of the anthophilous fauna of N.W. Europe, Ellis & Ellis-Adam (1993) found that dominant flower visitors of Caryophyllaceae, in particular in the genus Silene are moths followed by butterflies. The high proportion of nocturnal species is remarkable and many species are well known for having strongly-scented flowers.

It has been questioned if day-flowering or night-flowering is the basic pollination syndrome in the genus Silene (Greuter, 1995). It is an interesting fact that the Lychnis group and the Viscaria group, which are believed to be more basic in the Silene complex (Oxelman & Lidén, 1995; Desfeux & Lejeune, 1996), comprise only diurnal species.

 

S. flos-jovis	S. chalcedonica	S. coronaria with a skipper as flower visitor

 

There is evidence that night-flowering species have evolved several times independently from diurnal ancestors (Desfeux & Lejeune, 1996). The flower structure of most nocturnal species seems to fit with the moth pollination syndrome (sphingophily sensu lato, i.e. including phalaenophily) as described by Vogel (1954).

 

S. dichotoma	S. viscosa	S. nutans with a nectar-robbing bumblebee

Besides outcrossing selfing regularly occurs (autogamy or geitonogamy) in many annual species and self-compatibility is suspected for nearly all members (Kugler, 1970) and was confirmed for many species by Witt (2003). 

Desfeux C, Lejeune B (1996) Systematics of Euromediterranean Silene (Caryophyllaceae): evidence from a phylogenetic analysis using ITS sequences. C R Acad Sci Paris 319: 351-358.

Ellis WN, Ellis-Adam AC (1993) To make a meadow it takes a clover and a bee: the entomophilous flora of N.W. Europe and its insects. Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde 63: 193-220.

Greuter W (1995) Silene (Caryophyllaceae) in Greece: a subgeneric and sectional classification. Taxon 44: 543-581.

Jürgens A, Witt T, Gottsberger G (1996) Reproduction and pollination in Central European populations of Silene and Saponaria species. Bot Acta 109: 316-324.

Jürgens A, Witt T, Gottsberger G (2002) Pollen grain numbers, ovule numbers and pollen-ovule ratios in Caryophylloideae: correlation with breeding system, pollination, life form, style number, and sexual system. Sex Plant Reprod 14: 279-289

Kugler H (1970) Einführung in die Blütenökologie, 2nd ed. Fischer, Stuttgart.

Meusel H, Mühlberg H (1979) Unterfamilie Silenoideae (Lindl) A. Br. In: Hegi G (ed) Illustrierte Flora von Mitteleuropa (Band III). Parey, Berlin.

Oxelman B, Lidén M (1995) Generic boundaries in the tribe Sileneae (Caryophyllaceae) as inferred from nuclear rDNA sequences. Taxon 44: 525-542.

Oxelman B, Lidén M, Berglund D (1997) Chloroplast rps16 intron phylogeny of the tribe Sileneae (Caryophyllaceae). Plant Syst Evol 206: 393-410.

Vogel S. 1954. Blütenbiologische Typen als Elemente der Sippengliederung dargestellt anhand der Flora Südafrikas. Botanische Studien Heft 1. Fischer, Jena.

Witt T. 2003. Reproduktionsbiologie von Caryophyllaceen (Unterfamilie Caryophylloideae) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Nektarproduktion. Ph.D Thesis, University of Ulm, Germany.

_{Andreas Jürgens}