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Caryophyllaceae
Moss Campion
Silene acaulis
Endurance, quiet beauty, mountain spirit.
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
- Genus
- Silene
- Native to
- Arctic and alpine Northern Hemisphere
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- Cushion-forming perennial
- Height
- 2–8 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Sharply drained, gravelly
- Water
- Low
- Hardiness
- 2–6
- Lifespan
- Extremely long-lived; cushions over 100 years
Did you know
- Moss campion forms tight cushions of green moss-like foliage that hug the ground to escape arctic and alpine winds — a single cushion can take decades to reach the size of a dinner plate.
- The cushions warm up several degrees above the surrounding air temperature by absorbing sunlight, creating a tiny microclimate that allows it to flower in the brutal alpine zone.
- It can take a moss campion 25 years before it flowers for the first time, and a single cushion can live for over 200 years in the right conditions.
- Moss campion is found from Greenland to the Rocky Mountains to the Alps to Siberia — one of the most widespread and recognizable alpine cushion plants.
- The flowers cover the cushion so completely during peak bloom that the plant looks like a solid pink dome, almost as if it had been painted.
Color meanings
Pink
Resilient grace