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White Campion?
A member of the Pink Family and either a Silene or a Lychnis
I give up til next year when I will count stamen, etc, and see what I can do.
I am thinking there may be a name thing going on and it was once a Lychnis but now is assigned Silene, or vice versa.
This plant over runs our Schoolyard Habitat when given the chance. At its prime early in the year it looks great. I do not know why it is hard to identify...but always something hasn't been right with an identification. It is a Campion or a Silene (both of the Pink Family). While the calyx are inflated, they are not green like expected...but distictly reddened. While it seems to be White Campion, Lychnis alba, also known as Evening Campion, I sure don't think it opens its flowers in the evening and closes them in the morning. The flowers in this picture are wilted but then it was very hot ....but perhaps they take all day to close? A county extension office identified it as White Campion, Silene alba. The photo they e-mailed to me had green calyx though.
Wyman's lists it under Silene alba but then gives Lychnis alba in parenthesis....so maybe they ARE one plant. If that is the case male and female flowers are borne on separate plants!
Study Pointers:
- Just appreciate how confusing it can be to identify stuff. Find a plant that is distictive (easy to spot its special features).....then try to identify it. Pick one in flower as that makes it much easier. The Audubon Guide is pretty good for common stuff.
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