Silene vulgaris (bladder campion) Caryophyllaceae. Heather Kukor. 5/2017 TN.

Silene vulgaris is a perennial herb 20-80 cm tall, robust, sprawling, smooth, usually waxy-whitish, from a rhizome. 

Leaves opposite, fleshy, narrowly egg-shaped 3-8 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, tip abruptly long-pointed, often clasping stem. 

Flowers white, petals 0.4-0.6 cm, deeply notched (bilobed), calyx 1cm, inflated, papery, conspicuously veiny; becoming 2 cm in fruit; inflorescence open; blooming April-Aug. 

Fruit a dry capsule covered by old calyx, splitting open by 6 valves to release seeds. 

Wetland status: UPL. 

Frequency in NYC: Infrequent. 

Origin: Europe. 

Habitat: Disturbed, open areas, fill, meadows.