Appearance
Saponaria officinalis is a vespertine flower and a common perennial plant from the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae).

Foliage
The plants possess leafy, unbranched stems (often tinged with red). It grows in patches, attaining a height of 27.6 in. (70 cm). The broad, lanceolate, sessile leaves are opposite and between 1.6-4.7 in. (4-12 cm) long.

Flowers
Its sweetly scented flowers are radially symmetrical and pink, or sometimes white. Each of the five flat petals have two small scales in the throat of the corolla. They are about 1 in. (2.5 cm) wide. They are arranged in dense, terminal clusters on the main stem and its branches. In the northern hemisphere, it blooms from May to September, and in the southern hemisphere October to March.

Fruit
Fruits are capsules that are elliptical, and 0.39-0.47 in. (10-12 mm) long.

Ecological Threat
Saponaria officinalis has widely naturalized and sometimes becomes a troublesome weed. It may persist for years about abandoned home sites and invades waste places, stream sides, fields, and roadsides. Because of its saponin content, the species can be poisonous upon ingestion.

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• California Invasive Plant Council
• City of Ann Arbor Michigan Parks and Recreation
• Colorado Noxious Weeds
• Indiana Invasive Species Council - Invasive Plant List
• Invasive Plant Association of Wisconsin
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• John Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Survey of TNC Preserves, 1995.
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• Native Plant Society of Oregon, 2008
• Ohio Invasive Species Council
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999

References