''Silene latifolia'', commonly known as white campion, is a

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

, native to most of Europe,

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

and northern Africa. It is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

annual, occasionally

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and t ...

or a short-lived

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

, growing to between 40–80 centimetres tall. It is also known in the US as bladder campion but should not be confused with ''

Silene vulgaris ''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' within the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. Native to the Old World, the plant has been naturalized elsewhere, including North America. The young sh ...

'', which is more generally called bladder campion. The appearance depends on the age of the plant; when young they form a basal rosette of oval to lanceolate

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

4–10 cm long, and when they get older, forked stems grow from these, with leaves in opposite pairs. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s grow in clusters at the tops of the stems, 2.5–3 cm diameter, with a distinctive inflated calyx and five white petals, each petal deeply notched; flowering lasts from late spring to early autumn. The entire plant is densely hairy. Occasional plants with pink flowers are usually hybrids with red campion (''

Silene dioica ''Silene dioica'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Melandrium rubrum''), known as red campion and red catchfly, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe and introduced to the Americas. Description It is a biennia ...

'').

Habitat and occurrence

White campion grows in most open habitats, particularly wasteland and fields, most commonly on neutral to

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s. Despite the wide array of conditions in which campion can thrive, it prefers sunny areas that have rich and well-drained soil. An example ecoregion of occurrence is in the Sarmatic mixed forests. It is also named the Grave Flower or Flower of the Dead in parts of England as they are seen often growing on gravesites and around tombstones. It is

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, being found in most of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the greatest concentrations of the plant can be found in the north-central and northeastern sections of the country. ''S. latifolia'' is thought to have arrived in North America as a component of ship

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

Inbreeding avoidance

In ''S. latifolia'', outbred male offspring were found to sire significantly more progeny than inbred male offspring. This study indicated the occurrence of

inbreeding depression Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness caused by loss of genetic diversity as a consequence of inbreeding, the breeding of individuals closely related genetically. This loss of genetic diversity results from small population siz ...

in male plants under natural conditions. In female plants, inbreeding depression significantly affects vegetative growth, age at first flowering and total fitness. Post-pollination selection occurs in ''S. latifolia''. After multiple-donor pollination, it was found that pollen or embryo selection likely reduces the occurrence of inbred progeny.

Sex Chromosomes

''S. latifolia'' is a dioecious plant, which means that they have male and female individuals. The sex of ''S. latifolia'' is determined by sex chromosomes. XX individuals are female, XY individuals are male. The Y chromosome is larger than the X chromosome, and the sex chromosomes are the largest chromosome in ''S. latifolia.'' Sex chromosomes of ''S. latifolia'' originated from a pair of autosomes that evolved sex determining genes and stopped recombining. Recombination suppression between X and Y chromosome in ''S. latifolia'' has been found and degeneration of the Y chromosome has started. Sex-linked gene mapping shows three evolutionary strata where recombination stopped through three different major events. Recombination of the central region of the X chromosome has also been found to be suppressed. Incomplete dosage compensation is found in the X chromosome.

Use among Native Americans

The

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

use an

infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An inf ...

of the ''alba'' subspecies as a

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

.Smith, Huron H. 1932 Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians. Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525 (p. 361)

Susceptibility to disease

''Silene latifolia'' is afflicted by the fungal pathogen ''Microbotryum violaceum'', which acts as a sterilizing

sexually transmitted infection A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, e ...

in this species. (MHNT) Silene latifolia - flower.jpg, Each petal is deeply notched Silene latifolia subsp. alba MHNT.BOT.2004.0.310.jpg, '' Silene latifolia'' – MHNT Silene latifolia Ackerpflanze mit weißen Blüten.jpg, ''Silene latifolia'' in an open area that has a lot of exposure to sunlight

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27624 latifolia Flora of Western Asia Flora of North Africa Flora of Europe Dioecious plants Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Syria