Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris)

Family: Caryophyllaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Silene vulgaris is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required).

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves

Harvest Seasons: Spring, Early Summer

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet and very agreeable in salads. — Young shoots and leaves - raw or cooked.; The young leaves are sweet and very agreeable in salads.; The cooked young shoots, harvested when about 5cm long, have a flavour similar to green peas but with a slight bitterness.; This bitterness can be reduced by blanching the shoots as they appear from the ground.

Habitat & North American Range

Arable land, roadsides, grassy slopes etc, avoiding acid soils. (Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)