Pink or white Silene

Campions are a like a variety of habitats, and grow to a variety of heights to 90cm. The flowers are generally about 2cm across in shades of pink or white depending on species, and you can see that the white ones often have a pink tinge on the calyx tube, which is in various states of inflation (hence the name “bladder”).

Campions on the coast

Two campions I have spotted within metres of the beach are Sea campion – Silene uniflora / maritima at West Beach Whitstable Kent and Bladder campion – Silene vulgaris on Seaford Head Sussex.

wildflowers sussex — Campion – *Silene* – Tide Mills Sussex – Aug 2015

bladder campion silene vulgaris — Bladder campion – *Silene vulgaris* – Seaford Head – June 2013

Red campion inland

I did spot red campion – Silene dioica recently, on the edge of woods in Kent. The second picture possibly shows better the hairy nature of the stems and red calyx, and the white eye.

Red campion Silene dioica flower — Red campion – *Silene dioica* flower – Crab and Winkle Way – Jun 2019

Campion seed heads

campion seed pod silene Guestling Wood Sussex Jul 2021 — Campion seed pod – *Silene* – Guestling Wood Sussex – Jul 2021

You can see two more white campions along a hedge in a field in Seaford.

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