OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Saponaria officinalis   FAMILY Caryophyllaceae   Go to FSUS key


SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saponaria officinalis   FAMILY Caryophyllaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Saponaria officinalis

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Saponaria officinalis

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-15-001:

Saponaria officinalis   FAMILY Caryophyllaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Saponaria officinalis

 

COMMON NAME:
Soapwort, Bouncing Bet


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_saof4_001_lvd

        

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_saof4_010_lvd

        

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_061917blairsville23

June    Union County    GA

Georgia Mountain Research & Education Center

A green or red-tinged calyx tube, 10 protruding stamens and usually 2 styles, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_061917blairsville24

June    Union County    GA

Georgia Mountain Research & Education Center

Leaves sessile or clasping, strongly 3-veined, smooth, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_061917blairsville25

June    Union County    GA

Georgia Mountain Research & Education Center

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

Terry Holdsclaw    tdh_s_officinalis_7969

June    Catawba County    NC

Petals narrowly wedge-shaped, indented at the summit, and somewhat reflexed, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

Terry Holdsclaw    tdh_s_officinalis_7979

June    Catawba County    NC

Inflorescence a dense cluster of flowers atop the thick-jointed stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, Bouncing Bet

Terry Holdsclaw    tdh_s_officinalis_7985

June    Catawba County    NC

When mixed with water, crushed leaves & roots make lather, hence "Soapwort", per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Saponaria officinalis   FAMILY Caryophyllaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saponaria officinalis   FAMILY Caryophyllaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Saponaria officinalis

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Saponaria officinalis

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-15-001:
Saponaria officinalis   FAMILY Caryophyllaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Saponaria officinalis

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1319

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Disturbed areas, fields, roadsides, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: Europe

Common (uncommon in Coastal Plain of GA & SC)

map
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves sessile or clasping

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Nearly white/ light pink
Usually bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-limbed corolla
10 exserted stamens
Superior ovary

Flowers in dense cymes

FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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