Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke
bladder campion (maidenstears)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
bladder campion (maidenstears)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial from a strong taproot; stems erect to ascending, several, branched, usually glabrous and glaucous, 20-80 cm tall, the lower branches sometimes decumbent and rhizome-like.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves opposite, narrowly egg-shaped to oblanceolate, 3-8 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, glabrous, lower ones short-stalked, upper ones unstalked; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several to many flowers in a usually open and loose cluster; petals 5, white, clawed, the claws expanded above, about 2 cm long, the blades 4-6 mm long, deeply 2-cleft, otherwise entire; sepals 5, pale green to purplish, united, forming a tube 15-20 mm long and becoming inflated, prominently net-veined, glabrous except for the fringed lobes, 15- or 20-nerved.
Fruits:
Capsules egg-shaped to ellipsoid, 1.8-2 cm long, 6-valved; seeds 1-1.5 mm long, white becoming brown, warty-pimply.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Silene vulgaris
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
950 | 469 | 2425 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
28 | 0 | 68 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
161 | 64 | 311 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
13 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BG(1), ESSF(1), IDF(4), PP(2), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry roadsides, fields and waste places in the lowland, steppe and lower montane zones; common in S BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Oberna commutata (Guss.) Ikonn.
Silene cucubalus Wibel
Silene cucubalus var. latifolia
Silene inflata Sm.
Silene latifolia (Mill.) Britten & Rendle