Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

White Campion
Silene latifolia
Pink family (Caryophyllaceae)

Introduced from Europe, the White Campion and other similar species have become widespread across North America. Campion can cause problems in the production of small grains and grass, as its seeds are difficult to separate from those of clover, alfalfa, and timothy.


©2014 Derek Parker

Description

Non-native , 18-35" tall, with showy white flowers and prominent . Flowers with 5 white, deeply notched petals. is a long, striped tube with hairs. Male and female flowers on different plants (): male flower is 10- while female flower is larger, 20-, becoming more as it matures. Stem , to . . Stems are stiff-hairy and on upper portions. are round, 1-celled .

Field Marks

White flower with that is striped and hairy.

© Al Schneider

nerves -- Another name for a vein.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

spatulate -- spoon-shaped.

Glands are plant structures that secrete liquids, salts or other substances. Glands often appear as hairs with a drop of liquid at the end.

calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

inflated -- Swollen. Looks unusually large.

dioecious -- When male and female reproductive structures are on separate plants.

lanceolate -- Lance-shaped. Long, wider in the middle.

oblong -- Having an elongated form with somewhat parallel sides. Rectangular.