Ontario Weeds: Bladder
campion
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Related Links
Name: Bladder campion, Silene vulgaris
(Moench) Garcke,
Other Names: Silène enflé,
Cow bell, Rattleweed, Pétards, silène gonflé,
Silene cucubalus Wibel, Silene latifolia (Mill).
Family: Pink Family (Caryophyllacae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
by seed, by rooting of short underground branches which slant outwards
from the crown, and from pieces of crown cut off by implements.
It is easily distinguished by its smooth, hairless, waxy texture
throughout, and the smooth, papery, bladder-like calyx enclosing
the small seedpod.
Photos and Pictures
Bladder campion. A. Plant. B. Flower.
Stems & Roots: Root system a coarse,
whitish taproot with numerous, deeply penetrating and widely spreading
wiry branches, very persistent (tolerant of cultivation); stems
30 - 60 cm (1 - 2 ft) high, erect or spreading, smooth, light green
to whitish with a waxy bloom (fine powdery coating), usually swollen
at the nodes; leaves opposite (2 per node), narrowly oval, tapered,
deep green or whitish with a waxy bloom, the margins without teeth
but occasionally wavy or curled and appearing toothed.
Flowers & Fruit: Flowers in branching
clusters; sepals united and forming a bladder-like calyx, light
green or pinkish with darker green or purplish veins and 5 very
short teeth at the end; petals 5, deeply lobed, white to pinkish,
about 1.5 cm (¾ in.) across when open, soon curling up and
shriveling after pollination; seedpods nearly spherical, about 6
mm (¼ in.) long, enclosed by the loose, papery, bladder-like
calyx; seeds grayish, kidney-shaped, 1.5 mm (1/16 in.) across, rough
with tiny warty bumps. Flowers from mid-June to September.
Habitat: Bladder campion occurs throughout
Ontario in medium to coarse soils in well-drained locations. It
is common in pastures, waste places, roadsides, open woods, gardens,
lawns and hedges, but is rather uncommon in regularly cultivated
fields.
Related Links
... on general Weed
topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
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