Gypsophila paniculata
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Common Baby's-breath
Gypsophila paniculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Caryophyllaceae Genus: Gypsophila Species: G. paniculata
Binomial name
Gypsophila paniculata L.

Gypsophila paniculata, commonly known as Baby's-breath, is a cultivated ornamental flower popular in the florist trade, and originally from Eastern Europe. There are some 55 species of Gypsophila found in Europe, Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. It belongs to the family Caryophyllaceae, which includes the common carnation. Its natural habitat is on the steppes in dry, sandy and stony places, often on calcareous soils (gypsophila = "chalk-loving"). Specimens of this plant were first sent to Linnaeus from St Petersburg by the Swiss-Russian botanist Johann Amman.

Several members of the genus have roots which are rich in saponins.^[1]

References

Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé

Invasive

According to the Chicago Botanic Garden, gypsophila paniculata is an invasive species in the Chicago region. (Chicago Botanic Garden)

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Gypsophila paniculata

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