Taxon: Silene latifolia Poir.

Summary

Genus:

Silene

Family:

Caryophyllaceae

Subfamily:

Caryophylloideae

Tribe:

Sileneae

Nomen number:

400939

Place of publication:

Voy. Barbarie 2:165. 1789

Comment:

non Silene latifolia Rendle & Britten (1907)

Verified:

05/27/2016 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

2 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Silene latifolia Poir. subsp. latifolia

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Lychnis alba Mill.
Lychnis divaricata Rchb.
Melandrium album (Mill.) Garcke
Silene alba (Mill.) E. H. L. Krause
Silene latifolia Poir. subsp. alba (Mill.) Greuter & Burdet
Silene pratensis (Rafn) Godr.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 96-97.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2. Note: = Silene alba subsp. divaricata (Rchb.) Walters
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	white campion	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	white cockle	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English (Canada)	white cockle	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 96-97.
French	silène blanc	2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
French (Canada)	lychnide blanche	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 96-97.
German	weiße Lichtnelke	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen Note: as Silene latifolia subsp. alba
Portuguese (Brazil)	alfinetes	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Swedish	vitblära	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria		n.	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Amur
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Primorye
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq		n.	Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
4	Naturalized					widely natzd. elsewhere
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Liaoning Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan			Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	New Brunswick		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Nova Scotia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Prince Edward Island		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Québec		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	St. Pierre and Miquelon			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Iowa		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Minnesota		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Nebraska		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	North Dakota		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	South Dakota		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maine		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Hampshire		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	West Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Colorado		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Montana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Wyoming		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	New Mexico		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Delaware		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	District of Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Kentucky		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Subarctic America	Greenland			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America. Note: mentions
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Subarctic America	United States	Alaska		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America. Note: mentions
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Alberta		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America. Note: mentions
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Manitoba		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Saskatchewan		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria (n.), Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Iran, Iraq (n.), Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia]
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation [Primorye, Amur]

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Romania, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Naturalized

REGION:

Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China [Liaoning Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Japan

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

SUBARCTIC AMERICA: Greenland, United States [Alaska]
EASTERN CANADA: Canada [Québec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador], St. Pierre and Miquelon
WESTERN CANADA: Canada [Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, District of Columbia]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California, Utah]

Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina

Reference(s)

Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America. Note: mentions
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed	seed contaminant	potential; as Silene latifolia subsp. alba	McNeill, J. & H. C. Prentice. 1981. Silene pratensis (Rafn) Godron and Gren., the correct name for the white campion or white cockle (Silene alba (Miller) E.H.L. Krause, nom. illeg.). Taxon 30:27-32. Note: = Silene pratensis (Rafn) Godron & Gren.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=400939. Accessed 12 May 2026.