[2] Members of this genus have been the subject of research by preeminent plant ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and geneticists, including Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Carl Correns, Herbert G. Baker, and Janis Antonovics.

Many Silene species continue to be widely used to study systems, particularly in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.

[3] Notably, some members of the genus Silene hold the distinction of harboring the largest mitochondrial genomes ever identified.

[12] Silene is the feminine form of Silenus, an Ancient Greek woodland deity who was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus.

The roots are ground, mixed with water, and beaten to a froth, which is consumed by novice diviners during the full moon to influence their dreams.

Fossil †Silene microsperma seeds from the Chattian stage of the Oligocene have been found in the Oberleichtersbach Formation in the Rhön Mountains of central Germany.