Σκοστρούι, Τσακρούι, Σιλήνη η χιονοστιβαδοειδής
Etymology of Silene behen: Linnaeus named the Silene genus in 1753 for "Σιληνός" [Silinos, Silenus in Latin], the drunken foster-father of the Greek god of wine, Bacchus. Linnaeus was aware that mythological Silenus was often covered with foam from his drunkenness, and obviously, the sticky secretions of many of the Silenes were good parallelism to name the genus as such. Today, we can't know with certainty where the name Σιληνός derives from. The epithet "behen" is a Medieval Latin transcription of the Arabic بَهْمَن [bahman], meaning "avalanche", probably referring to the white secretions of the species.
There are 31 Silene kinds (species and subspecies) in Cyprus's wild habitat (an additional 32nd is in gardens), of which three are mostly or entirely encountered in occupied northern Cyprus.
We can recognise Silene behen among the others from its capsule; the calyx is 10-nerved. Also, it is an annual plant with pink petals shortly lobed. Silene behen reaches up to 40cm high, it grows in field margins, waste ground and dry hills at an altitude of up 1150. Silene behen is encountered all around Cyprus and it blooms from February to May.
