Silene vulgaris, Oberna behen, Silene cucubalus, Silene inflata, Bladder campion, Midenstears, ציפורנית נפוחה, السيلينة الشائعة

Silene vulgaris, Oberna behen, Silene cucubalus, Silene inflata, Bladder campion, Midenstears,

Hebrew: ציפורנית נפוחה, Arabic: السيلينة الشائعة

Scientific name:   Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke
Synonym name:   Oberna behen (L.) Ikonn., Silene cucubalus Wibel, Silene inflata Sm.
Common name:   Bladder campion, Maidenstears
Hebrew name:   ציפורנית נפוחה
Arabic name:   السيلينة الشائعة
Family:   Caryophyllaceae, Carnation Family, משפחת הציפורניים


Life form:   Hemicryptophyte, perennial
Spinescence:   Non-spinescent
Succulence:   Non-succulent
Stems:   Height: 20–80 cm. With many stems, stem ascending–erect, glabrous.
Leaves:   Opposite,lanceolate
Inflorescence:   Usually 20–50-flowered (sometimes flowers only 3–15; var. littoralis); flowers nodding, uppermost subtending bracts membranous.
Flowers:   White, petals 5, usually deeply 2-lobed; Inflorescence usually 20–50-flowered flowers nodding, uppermost subtending bracts membranous.
Fruits / pods:   Spherical, thick-walled, yellowish, seed capsule with 6 erect teeth, 8–9 mm long capsule.
Flowering Period:   April, July, June, May, March
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:   Euro-Siberian + Med + Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Silene probably from Greek sialon, “saliva,” referring to gummy exudation on stems, and/or named for Silenus, intoxicated foster-father of Bacchus (god of wine) who was covered with foam, much like the glandular secretions of many species of this genus.

vulgaris, Latin for “common”.
The Hebrew name: צפרנית, tsipornit, from ציפורן, tsiporen (Dianthus).

  • The standard author abbreviation Moench is used to indicate Conrad Moench (1744 – 1805), a German botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Garcke is used to indicate Christian August Friedrich Garcke (1819 – 1904), a German botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Wibel is used to indicate August Wilhelm Eberhard Christoph Wibel (1775 – 1814), a German botanist, mycologist, and physician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Sm. is used to indicate James Edward Smith (1759 – 1828), an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.




*Pictures taken in Ragunda, Sweden (see: www.flowersinsweden.com/Silenevulgaris_page.htm).