[5] It is native to Europe, temperate Asia and northern Africa and has been introduced to other parts of the world, particularly North America,[1] where it is now widespread and a common wild flower in meadows, open woods and fields.

[citation needed] In Crete it is called agriopapoula (αγριοπάπουλα) and its leaves and tender shoots are eaten browned in olive oil.

[8] In Cyprus it is very widely eaten, so much so that in recent years it has once again been cultivated and sold in shops in bunches.

It is commonly known as sculpit, stridolo or by the obsolete scientific name Silene inflata, as well as s-ciopetin, grixol in Veneto and nenkuz or sclopit in Friuli and cojet in Piedmont.

In the La Mancha region of Spain, where S. vulgaris leaves are valued as a green vegetable, there used to be people known as collejeros who picked and sold these plants.