Red Campion

(Silene dioica)

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of Rüdiger Kratz, GNU Free Documentation License

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Red Campion (Silene dioica)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification:  Flowers red. Five petals, each broad at the appex, deeply notched at the tip, and tapering to a thin base. Flower capsules, stems, and leaves hairy. Upper leaves ovate to oblong, outer margins smooth, and sessile to the stem. Basal leaves similar but with long petioles. Plant 1 to 2 feet in height.

Distribution: Southern Canada and southward in the northern United States to Missouri in the west and Virginia in the east. Also occurs in the Pacific Northwest.

Habitat: Red Campion is a garden escape now found in roadsides and other disturbed habitats.

Flowering period: June to September.

Red Campion (Silene dioica)

Similar Species:

Scarlet Lychnis (Lychnis chalcedonica)