Red Campion | Plant Information

Plant Data

Order:

Caryophyllales

Family:

Caryophyllaceae (Pink)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

5 rose-pink notched petals, up to 2.5cm. Flowers range in colour from dark red to pale pink depending on geographic location.

Fruit:

An ovoid capsule with 10 curved back teeth after becoming ripe. The capsule contains numerous seeds.

Leaves:

The dark green leaves are untoothed and appear in opposite pairs. They are lanceolate, pointed and with long winged stalks.

Maximum Size:

100cm tall.

Foraging Notes:

The high amounts of saponins make this plant inedible.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Aroma:

Flowers are unscented.

Other Names:

Adder's Flower, Bachelor's Buttons, Billy Buttons, Bird's Eye, Bob Robin, Brid Een, Bull Rattle, Bull's Eye, Cancer, Cock Robin, Cuckooflower, Devil's Flower, Dolly Winter, Drunkards, Fleabites, Gipsy Flower, Gramfer Greygles, Johnny Woods, Mary's Rose, Morning Campion, Mother Dee, Ragged Jack, Red Butcher, Red Catchfly, Red Mintchop, Red Riding Hood, Red Robin Hood, Robin Flower, Robin Redbreast, Robin-in-the-hedge, Robin's Eye, Robin's Flower, Robroys, Sarah James, Scalded Apples, Soldiers' Buttons, Wake Robin.

Habitats:

Cliffs, farmland, hedgerows, roadsides, rocks, wasteland, woodland.