This plant sports curious looking flowers which start from a spherical greenish ball - the yellowish star shaped flowers emerge out of the balls. Silene is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Common names include campion (shared with the related genus Lychnis) and catchfly. Silene = probably from the Greek sialon, "saliva," referring to the gummy exudation on the stems, and/or named for Silenus, the intoxicated foster-father of Bacchus (god of wine) who was covered with foam, much like the glandular secretions of many species of this genus. Herbs or small shrubs of varied habit.