WorldFloraDB - Saponaria ocymoides

Characteristics

Plants perennial, with over-wintering leafy shoots. Stems trailing, procumbent, or as-cending, much-branched, 5-25 cm. Leaves: petiole not winged, (0.1-)0.5-1(-3) cm; blade 1-veined, spatulate to ovate-lanceo-late, 0.6-2.5 × 0.3-1.4 cm. Cymes spreading, lax. Pedicels 2-6 mm. Flowers sometimes double; calyx usually purple, not cleft, 7-12 mm, glandular-pubescent; petals red or pink to white, blade 8-15 mm. Capsules 6-8 mm. Seeds 1.6-2 mm wide. 2n = 28 (Europe).

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

evergreen

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

anemochory

Mature width (meter)

0.5

Mature height (meter)

0.1 - 0.18

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

Sunny slopes and rocks, usually limestone, in foothills up to about 2300 metres in the Alps.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses	environmental use
Edible	-
Therapeutic use	-
Human toxicity	weak toxic (root), weak toxic (whole)
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings, divisions or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.

Mode	cuttings divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days)	12 - 25
Germination temperacture (C°)	21
Germination luminosity	light
Germination treatment	stratification
Minimum temperature (C°)	-35
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-