Bladder campion
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke; also Silene inflata Sm.
Common name(s): bladder campion, maidenstears
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- early emergence, mid-May
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- unopened flowers, mid-June
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- in flower, mid-June
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- leaf detail
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- flower detail, smooth inflorescence
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- senescing flowers
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- late August
Description:
– perennial
– in New England, S. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris; see Go Botany webpage
Characteristics:
-balloon-like flowers
- the bulging section is called the veined calyx sac
-leaves are long narrow and opposite
Habitat:
-dry places
-edges of fields
-along roads
Natural History:
-leaves can be used as a green if boiled
-contain a small amount of harmless toxin
Sources:
Anik, Vanessa. “Bladder Campion.” Edible Plants: Bladder Campion, www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible_plants/Bladdercampion/BladderCampion.html.