Introduced species: Silene spp.

One rather distinctive-looking species that many people are likely to come across, even in cities, is Silene vugaris (bladder campion). This introduced species is native to Europe and now distributed across Canada and the US (US range map here, Canadian range map here).

Silene vulgaris - male flowers

I have posted the above photo before (quite some time ago now), but I'm posting it again because it really does show clearly what it is that is visually attractive about this plant (also, I have since developed some basic image enhancement skills and can increase contrast and sharpen images to improve their informative value, so this version is a bit better), which was introduced in North America for its ornamental value [1].

Silene vulgaris - whole plant

This plant is not known to prosper in wild native environments but is reasonably common in modified habitats [1]. It is listed as a noxious weed in both the US [2] and Canada [3].

Silene vulgaris - foliage

S. vulgaris has some interesting reproductive characteristics; it appears in many forms; the flowers can be male (such as the ones pictured in the first image, which only have stamens), others are female, eg the one below with only pistils, and some are hermaphrodites with both male and female parts and function (I don't have any photos of a hermaphrodite flower) [4].

Silene vulgaris - female flower

Another plant from this genus which is also introduced is Silene latifolia (white campion). It is also widely introduced in North America (US range map here, Canadian range map here). Like its close relative S. vulgaris, S. latifolia is listed as a noxious weed in both the US [5] and Canada [6].

Silene latifolia - whole plant

The foliage of S. latifolia resembles S. vulgaris, but is generally broader and larger.

Silene latifolia - flower - note the comparative lack of detail/subtlety in the veination of the bulbous section

Flowers in this species are unisexual (either male or female) [7]. All of the S. latifolia flowers pictured here are female.

Silene latifolia

Bladder Campion - Silène Enflé - Silene Vulgaris

Le silène enflé (silene vulgaris), ci-dessous, est comestible (les feuilles). On peut les mettre dans une salade ou les sauter. Moi, je les manges crus cueuillis directement du sol, parce que je m'amuse à goûter aux plantes comestibles quand je me promène dans les bois. Un très bon goût jeune, devient amer quand mature.

S. vulgaris inflorescence

The bladder campion, silene vulgaris, is edible. The young shoots are tender and sweetish, but it gets bitter as the plant matures. A rather tasty plant early in the season, though I don't sample it more than two or three times in the season. It's quite a peculiar-looking flower, with its large bulbous shape topped by those delicate, almost frilly petals. But when you get close you can see that it has some beautiful, subtle colour gradation in the filaments and anthers, giving this light hint of purple colour. The central flower in this photograph has been damaged (missing stamens), but because of that you can clearly see the purple tips on the bulbous part of the flower. The bulb itself surrounds the part that, once fertilized, develops into a seed. I like it's stained-glass appearance. The bladder campion is usually considered a weed in North America (it's native to Europe), but I quite like it regardless.

This evening I'm going to unwind a bit in the garden. I have to thin my radishes a bit and the tomatoes need to be pruned and trained; they're developing suckers that need to be removed. My eggplants are suffering; the weather has been unseasonably cold and it just hasn't been good for them. Ditto the peppers. I'm hoping for some better weather. I bought some endive seeds to replace my lettuces once it got too hot to grow them, but so far that hasn't happened at all. I suppose one can't dictate the weather. At least the brussels sprouts are happy.