Bladder Campion, Maiden's Tears

Silene vulgaris (Moensch) Garcke

Caryophyllaceae (Pink Family)

▲▼ mature, flowering plants in pasture/range areas

▲ stem base, showing light-green, hairless leaves

▲ flowering with inflated (bladder-like) calyxes

▲▼ flowering stems

 ▲▼ flowers

Bladder Campion: 

·         Eurasian native, short-lived perennial weed that grows 8-24 inches tall, with mostly  unbranched stems (until flowering starts)

·         Often produces a semi-rosette of opposite, oval, light green, hairless leaves with pointed tips and no petioles

·         At flowering, stem elongates, with longer internodes and slightly smaller leaves

·         Flowers are at the ends of branched stem tips, and  are pinkish-white, five-petalled, with deeply-notched petals and below the petals is an inflated, football-shaped calyx that is smooth, without raised, prominent veins

·         May be toxic if grazed heavily due to saponins in plant, seeds

·         Similar species White Campion (also native to Europe) has similar flowers, but entire plant is covered with soft, non-sticky hairs, flower calyx is also hairy and has 20 raised, prominent veins per flower; it is more common as a row-crop weed in the midwest