Saponaria officinalis
Saponaria officinalis
Sabunotu
Erect perennial with a creeping rhizome and simple or little-branched stems, 30-70 cm. Leaves oblong-elliptic, up to 12 x 3 cm, acute or acuminate, shortly petiolate or sessile, distinctly 3-nerved, glabrous or pubescent. Flowers fragrant, in compact terminal corymbs, shortly pedunculate. Calyx green or yellowish green, glabrous or pubescent, narrowly oblong-cylindrical, 18-22 mm, with 1,5-2 mm ovate, acuminate teeth. Petals up to 30 cm, white or pink with an obovate lamina with 2 small scales at the base, and a narrow claw. Capsule oblong-ovate, shorter than calyx. Fl. 6-8. Roadsides, streamsides, damp woods, shady places, 200-1100 m.
W., S. & C. Europe, C. Russia, Caucasia; an escape from cultivation in the New World.
