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Red Campion
Silene dioica
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Red Campion is a perennial wildflower with bright pink, deeply notched petals. It is widespread in Europe and often seen along woodland edges, hedgerows, meadows and roadside banks, and it is also grown in gardens. Each plant is either male or female, so one plant makes only one kind of flower.
Did you know?
- Each plant is either male or female; they do not carry both kinds of flowers.
- It can hybridise with White Campion, sometimes making very hairy plants with pale pink flowers.
About the species
Identification
Upright, softly hairy plant 20–60 cm tall; stem often reddish near the top. Leaves in pairs, oval, with smooth edges; lower ones narrow into a long stalk. Clusters of several bright pink to magenta flowers, around 2 cm across; each petal is deeply notched into two. The tube behind the petals is swollen on female flowers and slimmer on male flowers. After flowering it forms a short barrel-shaped seed capsule. Often confused with White Campion, which has white flowers; their rare hybrid is very hairy with pale pink blooms. Flowers in Finland from June to August.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
herb-rich forest
Flowering
Jun–Aug
About the habitat
Grows in light-rich places such as woodland edges and glades, damp alder woods, meadows, rocky slopes, field margins, roadsides, gardens and waste ground. Common throughout the country.
Sources
Photo: J. Patrick Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bayrischer Wald 9929.JPG
Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38131
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Itämeri: rannikon lehdot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38131
Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Saxifraga-Silene, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38131
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puna-ailakki
