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Photographer: Merel R. Black
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Family Caryophyllaceae
Saponaria officinalis L.
bouncing-bet, soapwort
Saponaria: sometimes called soapwort, the name derives from the Latin sapo, "soap," for its soap-producing qualities
officinalis: Latin generally meaning "of the shops" or "sold in the marketplace" or "official"
Hazardous 
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| Status: | Introduced - naturalized; potentially invasive |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall, mostly hairless forb; stems leafy; with colony-forming rhizomes |
| Flower: | white to pink, 5-parted, 3/4"-1" wide, fragrant, often double; tube-forming sepals 1" or longer, petals flaring backward; inflorescence a many-flowered, domed cluster; blooms July-Oct. |
| Leaf: | opposite, lance-shaped, stalkless, with a prominent "bump" at the nodes |
| Habitat: | disturbed sites, often sandy sites |
| (Glossary) |
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