OregonFlora: Saponaria officinalis

	Saponaria officinalis
	bouncing-bet
Stems	erect, 30–90+ cm; simple or branched above.
Leaves	oblanceolate to ovate, 3–10 cm.
Inflorescences	cymes often dense.
Flowers	calyces often cleft, 15–25 mm, green or sometimes reddish, glabrous or virtually so; petals pink; limbs 8–15 mm.
Fruits	~15–20 mm.
Seeds	1.5–2 mm.
2n	=28.

	Saponaria officinalis
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Roadsides, meadows, slopes, pastures, riverbanks. Flowering Jun–Aug. 0–1500 m. Casc, Col, CR, ECas, Est, Lava, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; most of North America; southern Europe. Exotic. Sometimes cultivated, this species was first collected in Oregon in 1911.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 565 Rich Rabeler, Ronald Hartman
Sibling taxa	S. ocymoides
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Saponaria officinalis

bouncing-bet

Stems

erect, 30–90+ cm; simple or branched above.

Leaves

oblanceolate to ovate, 3–10 cm.

Inflorescences

cymes often dense.

Flowers

calyces often cleft, 15–25 mm, green or sometimes reddish, glabrous or virtually so;

petals pink;

limbs 8–15 mm.

Fruits

~15–20 mm.

Seeds

1.5–2 mm.

=28.

Saponaria officinalis

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Roadsides, meadows, slopes, pastures, riverbanks. Flowering Jun–Aug. 0–1500 m. Casc, Col, CR, ECas, Est, Lava, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; most of North America; southern Europe. Exotic.

Sometimes cultivated, this species was first collected in Oregon in 1911.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 565
Rich Rabeler, Ronald Hartman

Sibling taxa

S. ocymoides

Web links