Silene vulgaris, the bladder campion[ Bladder Campion, Prov. of Ontario] or maidenstears,
Description
The plant can reach in height, with white-petaled flowers up to wide.
Similar species include S. noctiflora and Silene latifolia.
Distribution and habitat
It is
Native species to Europe, temperate Asia and northern Africa and has been introduced to other parts of the world, particularly North America,
where it is now widespread and a common wild flower in meadows, open woods and fields.
[ Bladder Campion, Prov. of Ontario]
Uses
The young shoots and the tender leaves are sometimes used as food in some countries of the
Mediterranean region.
These are considered edible raw before the plant flowers and can be used in salads.
The older leaves are usually eaten boiled or fried,
sauteed with
garlic or in
.
Crete and Cyprus
In
Crete it is called
agriopapoula (αγριοπάπουλα) and its leaves and tender shoots are eaten browned in
olive oil.
In Cyprus it is very widely eaten, so much so that in recent years it has once again been cultivated and sold in shops in bunches. Two of the common Cypriot names are strouthouthkia (στρουθούθκια; ) and tsakrithkia (τσακρίδκια; ).[
]
Italy
In Italy the leaves of this plant may be used as an ingredient in
risotto. It is commonly known as
sculpit,
stridolo or by the obsolete scientific name
Silene inflata, as well as
s-ciopetin,
grixol in
Veneto and
nenkuz or
sclopit in
Friuli and
cojet in
Piedmont.
Spain
In the
La Mancha region of
Spain, where
S. vulgaris leaves are valued as a
green vegetable, there used to be people known as
collejeros who picked and sold these plants. Leaves are small and narrow so it takes many plants to obtain a sizeable amount.
In La Mancha, the leaves, locally known as collejas, were mainly used to prepare gazpacho viudo (widower gazpacho), consisting of flatbread known as tortas de gazpacho and a stew prepared with 'the leaves.[ Gazpacho viudo recipe] Other dishes prepared with these leaves in Spain include potaje de garbanzos y collejas, Scrambled eggs con collejas and rice con collejas.
See also
External links
