White Campion - Wild Flowers - Native Wildflowers of The Western Isles - Scotland
Silene alba is the British sub species of Silene latifolia.
This plant is an annual or biennial or short lived perennial - to be seen along the verges, hedgerows, fields, roadsides and arable farmland. Its flowers being about 1ins across in diameter. Here in The Western Isles we get several campions, which are members of the carnation family. We get white campions, sea campions, moss campions, red campions and there is a plant which is very similar and closely related, the ragged robin.
White Campion - Scented
The white campion is slightly scented - unlike the red campion. These lovely flowers appear from May to September. The Calyx is much darker and less inflated than that of the sea campion. The stems are soft and hairy.. The seed pod is a capsule inside the calyx. White Campion has white flowers with five petals, each deeply notched and almost divided into two; its oval leaves and stems are hairy
Pink Flowers - Hybridisation
Is the plant hybridises with red campion the flowers are a subtle pink shade.
Male & Female Plants - Pollination - Moths
Male and female plants occur on different plants and pollination is often by night flying moths - who are attracted by the flowers smell
