Gypsophila repens

Gypsophila repens, the alpine gypsophila[2] or creeping baby's breath,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, where it grows on dry, chalky slopes.[4] The Latin name literally means "creeping chalk-lover".[5] It is a prostrate, mat-forming herbaceous perennial, growing around 20 cm (8 in) tall by 30–50 cm (12–20 in) wide. For much of the summer it bears masses of star-shaped flowers which may be white, lilac or light purple, in loose panicles.[6][4]

Gypsophila repens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Gypsophila
Species:
G. repens
Binomial name
Gypsophila repens
Synonyms[1]
  • Gypsophila adscendens Jacq.
  • Gypsophila alpestris Jord. & Fourr.
  • Gypsophila dubia Willd.
  • Gypsophila erectiuscula Jord. & Fourr.
  • Gypsophila sabauda Jord. & Fourr.

In cultivation this plant is often grown in rock gardens or against dry stone walls. Like its relative G. paniculata, it is also used as a cut flower. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[7][8]

  • a pink-flowered single-petalled form
  • a pink-flowered double-petalled cultivated form
  • a white-flowered form
  • foliage

References
  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. "Gypsophila repens". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
  5. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN 9781845337315.
  6. "Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p. 419. Könemann, 2004. ISBN 3-8331-1253-0
  7. "Gypsophila repens AGM". RHS Plant Finder. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 43. Retrieved 3 March 2018.


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