Starry Campion (Silene stellata), at the top of my normal hike, when I’m out wandering. My hikes are the same all the time. I’ve gotten to know my mountains well. What plants are where, whether it is a “bush” of American Chestnut, or a little puff of Pincushion Moss, I know where they are. This plant is one of my “sign posts” to turn around. This and Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum). Turn around and head back down to the cabin.

Starry Campion, native to the central and eastern United States, a herbaceous perennial which is 1 to 2 feet tall, most often unbranched or with few branches.

The flowers occur individually or in very small groups at the tips of long side branches. The flowers are a bit less than an inch across, made up of 5 snowy white fringed petals.

Flowers bloom from the middle, to late summer, for almost a month.

The lower and upper leaves are opposite and the middle leaves are in whorls of 4. The leaves measure about 4 inches long and a bit more than 1 inch across.

So many discoveries out there, just waiting to happen, even when I think I know my mountains.

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