Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Silene vulgaris
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Bladder Campion at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silene vulgaris
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Silene vulgaris
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Silene vulgaris
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Silene vulgaris
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-17-004:
Silene cucubalus FAMILY Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silene latifolia
COMMON NAME:
Bladder Campion, Maiden's-tears
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sila16_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0405i_03
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Cymes open; flowers bracteate and pedicellate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0505l_31
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Inflated calyx sac is veined and papery and looks like a balloon or melon, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Silene vulgaris
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silene vulgaris
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Silene vulgaris
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Silene vulgaris
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Silene vulgaris
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-17-004:
Silene cucubalus
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silene latifolia
1380
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Uncommon in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Usually bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p260
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p133
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p058
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p081
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p037
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".