Silene acaulis

(L.) Jacq.

Cushion-pink, Moss Campion

Caryophyllaceae Edible: Leaves Potential hazards — see below 20,244 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Silene acaulis, known as moss campion or cushion pink, is a small wildflower that is common all over the high arctic and tundra and in high mountains of Eurasia and North America (Alps, Carpathians, southern Siberia, Pyrenees, British Isles, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Rocky Mountains). It is an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is also called the compass plant, since the flowers appear first on the south side of the cushion. (Various other plants also have this name.)

Description

A herb. It forms small hummocks of leafy stems. They are woody at the base. They are 5-15 cm tall. It spreads 10-100 cm wide. The dead leaves remain attached. The leaves are very narrow. The flowers are single and pink or purple. They sit just above the leaves.

Edible Uses

The plant is cooked and eaten as a vegetable in Iceland and in Arctic and Alpine regions. The raw root skins have also been used as food — this use refers specifically to the subspecies S. acaulis exscapa (All.)DC.

Traditional Uses

The plant is boiled with butter and eaten as a vegetable.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The plant has been used in the treatment of colic in children.

Known Hazards

There is no listing that moss campion is toxic, though it does have saponins which, though toxic, are hard to absorb in the body. They can be broken down by thorough cooking. Its advised to not consume large amounts of this plant.

Distribution

It is a cold temperate plant. It grows in the Arctic. It grows on high mountains in Western and Central Europe and in the Rocky Mountains in Canada. It is often in stony places above the tree line. It suits hardiness zones 2-8.

Where It Grows

Arctic, Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, Europe, Iceland, North America, Norway, Scandinavia, Slovenia, Spain, Tasmania,

Cultivation

It can be grown by seed or by division.

Propagation

Sow seed in early spring in a cold frame. When large enough to handle, prick seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse through their first winter. Plant out into permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Can also be propagated by division in spring.

Other Uses

Plants form a rooting carpet suitable for use as ground cover when planted approximately 25 cm apart each way.

Notes

There are about 500-800 Silene species.

Also Known As

Fjellsmelle

References (14)

Cormack, R. G. H., 1967, Wild Flowers of Alberta. Commercial Printers Edmonton, Canada. p 90
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 1340
Enum. stirp. Vindob. 78, 242. 1762
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 74
Girard, N. J., 2020, Sustainable Foraging of Wild Edible Plants in Norway. A Biocultural Approach. M. Sc. thesis Norwegian University. p 130

Show all 14 references

Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 291
http://www.botanic-gardens-ljubljana.com/en/plants
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 805
Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 530 (As Silene acaulis var. exscapa)
Morley, B. & Everard, B., 1970, Wild Flowers of the World. Ebury press. Plate 3
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Porsild, A.E., 1974, Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers. Natural History Series No. 2 National Museums of Canada. p 162
Svanberg, I., et al, 2012, Edible wild plant use in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 81(4): 233-238
Whitney, C. W., et al, 2012, A Survey of Wild Collection and Cultivation of Indigenous Species in Iceland. Human Ecology 40:781-787