''Silene latifolia'' subsp. ''alba'' (formerly ''Melandrium album''), the white campion is a dioecious flowering plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

, native to most of Europe,

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

and Northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

, occasionally

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

or a short-lived perennial plant, growing to between 40–80 centimetres tall. It is also known in the US as bladder campion but should not be confused with ''

Silene vulgaris ''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' of the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it ...

'', which is more generally called bladder campion. The appearance depends on the age of the plant; when young they form a basal rosette of oval to lanceolate

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

4–10 cm long, and when they get older, forked stems grow from these, with leaves in opposite pairs. The flowers grow in clusters at the tops of the stems, 2.5–3 cm diameter, with a distinctive inflated

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

and five white petals, each petal deeply notched; flowering lasts from late spring to early autumn. The entire plant is densely hairy. Occasional plants with pink flowers are usually hybrids with red campion ('' Silene dioica'').

Habitat and occurrence

White campion grows in most open habitats, particularly

wasteland Wasteland or waste land may refer to: * Desert or barren area * an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not Art, entertainment, and media Comics * ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror ...

and fields, most commonly on neutral to

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of ...

soils. Despite the wide array of conditions in which campion can thrive, it prefers sunny areas that have rich and well-drained soil. An example ecoregion of occurrence is in the Sarmatic mixed forests. It is also named the Grave Flower or Flower of the Dead in parts of England as they are seen often growing on gravesites and around tombstones. It is

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in North America, being found in most of the United States, the greatest concentrations of the plant can be found in the north-central and northeastern sections of the country. ''S. latifolia'' is thought to have arrived in North America as a component of ship

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

Inbreeding avoidance

In ''S. latifolia'', outbred male offspring were found to sire significantly more progeny than inbred male offspring. This study indicated the occurrence of

inbreeding depression Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness which has the potential to result from inbreeding (the breeding of related individuals). Biological fitness refers to an organism's ability to survive and perpetuate its genetic material. ...

in male plants under natural conditions. In female plants, inbreeding depression significantly affects vegetative growth, age at first flowering and total fitness. Post-pollination selection occurs in ''S. latifolia''. After multiple-donor pollination, it was found that pollen or embryo selection likely reduces the occurrence of inbred progeny.

Use among Native Americans

The Ojibwa use an infusion of the ''alba'' subspecies as a medicine.Smith, Huron H. 1932 Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians. Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525 (p. 361)

Susceptibility to disease

''Silene latifolia'' is afflicted by the fungal pathogen ''Microbotryum violaceum'', which acts as a sterilizing sexually transmitted infection in this species. (MHNT) Silene latifolia - flower.jpg, Each petal is deeply notched Silene latifolia subsp. alba MHNT.BOT.2004.0.310.jpg, '' Silene latifolia'' – MHNT Ackerpflanze mit weißen Blüten.JPG, ''Silene latifolia'' in an open area that has a lot of exposure to sunlight

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27624 latifolia Flora of Western Asia Flora of North Africa Flora of Europe Dioecious plants Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Syria