Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 109 



BLADDER CAMPION (Silene latifolia (EURO- 

 PEAN.) 



We have several Campions, some natives and 

 some introduced. The present species was brought 

 to us from Europe. It has very unusual blossoms, in 

 that the calyx is very inflated, almost globular and 

 handsomely marked with darker green, so as to often 

 give it a very similar appearance to that of the citron 

 melon. The five white petals are cleft in twain for 

 nearly their whole length. The plant branches but 

 slightly, each branch being terminated by a loose, 

 few-flowered cluster. The leaves are quite smooth and 

 grow oppositely on the stem, slightly clasping it 

 with their bases; they are ovate-lanceolate in shape 

 and deep green in color. This species is a very hardy 

 one. It is a perennial and plants spring up from the 

 same root year after year, while numerous new ones 

 are formed from the flower seeds. 



It is a common escape from gardens and may be 

 found blooming from June to August along roads or 

 in dry waste places from Quebec to Minn, and south 

 to Va. and Mo. 



EVENING LYCHNIS; WHITE CAMPION (Lychnis 

 alba) (EUROPEAN). 



This is another attractive species introduced from 

 Europe. It gets its common name from the habit 

 of opening towards evening and closing the follow- 

 ing morning. The petals are white, deeply cleft and 

 crowned at the base with little petal-like divisions; 

 the calyx is inflated and often deep pink on the ribs. 

 As usual with members of the family, the leaves are 

 smooth edged and in pairs, oppositely on the stem 

 that grows from one to two feet high. These are also 

 found in waste places and along roadsides where 

 they have escaped from gardens, from Me. to N. J. 

 and west to Ohio. 



