Bladder Campion

Bladder Campion
Bladder Campion. Silene vulgaris.
Caryophyllaceae, the pink family.

Description:
Plant: Erect, flowering stems, 6"-24" tall bear small clusters of white flowers with an inflated, balloon-like base. Perennial.
Flowers: White, 1/2"-3/4" across, with five petals so deeply notched as to appear as ten, emerging from the summit of an inflated, smooth, balloon-like calyx, marked with pinkish veins. Flowers are borne in a small cluster ([[cyme]]), atop a stiff stem. Three styles extend well beyond the petals.
Leaves: Opposite, ovate to lanceolate, sessile, entire, 1.5"-4" long, sometimes clasping the stem
Fruit: A papery husk derived from the expanded calyx.
Blooming: May-August
Habitat: Weedy areas, overgrown fields.

Comments: The smooth, balloon-like calyx gives this species its common name. Native to Eurasia, it has spread across much of the Northeast US and Southern Canada.

Where to find it: Relatively uncommon in the park, I have found it only in one location, a weedy patch consisting mainly of spotted knapweed just west of the west perimeter trail about 100 yards from the lodge. The closely related [[White Campion]] (Silene latifolia) is much more common.