Bladder Campion

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