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Short-lived perennial or biennial, from the Caryophyllaceae family, native to Europe and Western Asia, now naturalized in many temperate regions of the world. It frequents meadows, hedges, roadsides, embankments, and sunny to semi-shaded wastelands, on fresh to moderately dry soils, generally rich in nitrogen.
Like Silene dioica, it is dioecious, and the two species frequently coexist in the same environments, sometimes naturally crossing to produce hybrids with pale pink flowers. The stems are erect, reaching 40 to 80 cm, soft and pubescent, bearing oval-lanceolate leaves of a tender green. The flowers, borne by both female and male plants, are white, with five deeply bifid petals, and open mainly at the end of the day and at night, then releasing a slight fragrance that attracts nocturnal butterflies, notably sphinx moths. The calyx of the female flowers is particularly swollen and vesicular, distinctly striated with green veins.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to September.
Hardy and spontaneous, it self-seeds freely and establishes itself effortlessly in natural gardens and flower meadows. The photographs clearly show the visual complementarity it forms with Silene dioica when the two species mingle, the bright white of one contrasting with the vivid pink of the other.