Flora of North America species comparison

Gypsophila elegans is frequently included in mixtures of “wildflower” seeds used for roadside planting and other revegetation projects. A specimen specifically from such a mixture was seen from Louisiana, but such mixtures are used widely elsewhere and are believed to account for the presence of this species in Colorado and in at least one Utah locality. A report of this species from Labrador appears to have been based on garden plants.

If Gypsophila elegans is divided into two varieties, following Y. I. Barkoudah (1962), plants in the flora area are var. elegans. Cultivars are much used by florists and are frequently grown as garden ornamentals. These may have supernumerary petals, petals to 25 mm, and/or pink to maroon petals.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Gypsophila paniculata, which is widely cultivated as a garden ornamental and florists’ crop, occurs rather sporadically in eastern North America, mostly in waste places, although it occasionally forms sizeable local populations in soils that are not strongly acidic. In parts of central and western North America, in contrast, it has become an abundant and widespread weed in hayfields and pastures, often being dispersed as a tumbleweed. Its roots may extend four meters into the soil. It has been designated a noxious weed in California, Washington, and Manitoba. Also, there is concern that the spread of G. paniculata in the dune-swale complexes around the upper Great Lakes presents a threat to some of the rare species that are largely restricted to these habitats (K. D. Herman 1996).

Botanical varieties of Gypsophila paniculata have been based on the distribution of pubescence on stems and leaves, but are doubtfully worthy of taxonomic recognition. Both glabrous-stemmed plants and plants with proximally glandular-puberulent stems are naturalized in North America. Cultivars have been selected for compact habit, supernumerary petals, petals to ca. 8 mm, and/or pink petals. Occasional naturalized plants have purple-tinged pedicels and calyces. A form with supernumerary petals has spread from cultivation in northern Michigan. The ploidy level(s) of populations in the flora area have not been investigated.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)