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Common Name: Baby's Breath

General Information

Gypsophila paniculata is a perennial plant that can grow up to 1.20 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine..

Known Hazards

Although no mention has been seen for this species, at least one member of this genus has a root that is rich in saponins[].
Although poisonous, saponins also have a range of medicinal applications and many saponin-rich plants are used in herbalism (particularly as emetics, expectorants and febrifuges) or as sources of raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry. Saponins are also found in a number of common foods, such as many beans.
Saponins have a quite bitter flavour and are in general poorly absorbed by the human body, so most pass through without harm. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of raw foods that contain saponins.
Saponins are much more toxic to many cold-blooded creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish and make them easy to catch[].

Botanical References

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Range

Europe. An occasional garden escape in Britain.

Habitat

Dry sandy and stony places, in steppe where it grows with large tufted species of Stipa grasses[], north to latitude 57°n[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.20 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a sunny position and a well-drained dryish soil[, ]. Plants are not long-lived in wet or heavy soils[]. A lime tolerant plant[], it prefers a limey soil according to another report[]. Plants are intolerant of winter damp[] but tolerate drought once established[].
A very ornamental plant[], it is hardy to about -20c[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Purgative[].
The root contains triterpenoid saponins and these have spermicidal activity[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and, if growth is sufficient, plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. If the plants are too small to plant out, grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter and then plant them out in late spring or early summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Basal cuttings before the plant flowers. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Root cuttings.