Variegated White Catchfly - Silene latifolia

[Tarruvi]

I've been growing catchflies in my backyard for about 8 years, and about 2 years ago I spotted some variegated individuals. I chalked them up as sports, just a spontaneous mutation in the plant tissue growing out of the rosettes. Then the following year (last year), dozens of seedlings popped up everywhere with variegated leaves. I cleared out any plants that were normal, and took care of the variegated plants until they set seed. But there is an issue...

Silene latifolia have plants that are either male or female, making the process of selection a little more complicated as self-pollination is out of the question. The seeds would need to inherit 2 copies of the gene for variegation in order to express it, and I would need to hope that both parents either expressed or carried the gene. After the seed pods ripened, I collected about 300 seeds from one plant I knew was variegated.

As spring rolled around this year, I planted 100 of those seeds in a tray. And they sprouted, revealing about a dozen variegated seedlings as their true leaves emerged:

Some seedlings are more showy than others, but I like all of them the same.

And, there are some volunteers in the garden:

These guys are much larger, and have a more striking appearance. I think the sunlight may have played a huge part in their looks, and vigor. I heard white catchflies or white campion can be eaten as a green, but they don't taste that good on their own. Being paired with other ingredients as a result. As for me, I think they look nice as a decorative and dubious green. They also don't seem to be targets for the slugs in my garden, a luxury most greens I grow don't have unfortunately. A nice characteristic about them is they're pretty long lasting, coming up from large taproots year after year.