Weeds
Oberna behen (L.) Ikonn. - Bladder campion.
Classification.
Family Caryophyllaceae Juss., genus Oberna Adans. (Behenantha (Otth) Schur, nom. superfl.).Synonyms.
Behenantha behen (L.) Ikonn., Cucubalis venosus Gilib. non valide publ., Silene cucubalis Wib., Silene latifolia (Mill.) Britt. et Rendle, Silene venosa Aschers., Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke, Silene inflata Sm.Biological group.
Perennial plant.Morphology and biology.
Hairless, bluish plant. Stem is 40-100 cm high, erect, ramified on the top. Cotyledons are oval. Foliage leaves are opposite, lanceolate or lance-ovate, acuminate, sessile, lower leaves tapered into the short petiole. Flowers on thin peduncle, in branchy semi-umbels on the ends of stalks and twigs. Calyx is swollen, wide ovate, with 5 triangular sharp teeth and 20 nerves. Petals are white, cleft in the middle, 1.5-2 times longer than the calyx. Boll is almost spherical, 8-9 mm diameter. Seeds are reniform. Seeds emerge best from depths of 0.5 cm. Flowering and fruiting period is July-September. Seeds per plant are about 8000. Ripe seeds maintain their germinability in soil for approximately 8 years.Distribution.
Widely distributed species in Western Europe, Northern Mongolia, Japan. Introduced plant in Northern Africa, Northern and Southern America. Widely distributed plant in nearly all the former USSR.Ecology.
Prefers dry locations, light, sandy soils. Grows usually in sparse herbage.Economic value.
Infests grain and tilled crops, perennial fodder grasses, occurs in kitchen gardens, orchards, fallow lands, field margins, along roadways. Control measures: stubbling, deep plowing, inter-row cultivation, chemical weeding.Reference citations:
Mal'tsev A.I. 1939. The atlas of the most important weed species of the USSR. Moscow-Leningrad: Selkhozgiz. V. 2: 42-43.Nikitin V.V. 1983. Weed plants in the flora of the USSR. Leningrad: Nauka. 178 p.
Shishkin, B.K. 1936. Flora of the USSR. Moscow-Leningrad: Ac. Sc. USSR. V. 6: 596.