pint? Ifamilp, 



Bouncing Bet. Saponaria officinalis. 



Found on dry soil, by the wayside and in the fields, blossoming in 

 July through September. 



The large leafy stalk, which grows from 1 to 2 feet high, is stout, 

 slightly rough, and noticeably enlarged at the joints. Its color is green, 

 or more often a dark crimson. 



The oval leaf, tapering at the tip, clasps the stalk at the foot ; it 

 is 3-ribbed and the middle-rib being a little short the blade is fulled to 

 it on either side ; it has a smooth surface, and is of a thick texture ; the 

 color is a grayish-green (usually dusty). The leaves are opposite in 

 growth. 



The flower is large, about 1 inch across, with 5 petals, broad and 

 slightly notched at the top, and extended down into a narrow stem-like 

 base, which is confined within the long cylindrical calyx ; at the spread 

 of the broad part of the petal are two little thread-like fringes. The 

 color runs from white to pink, the 10 stamens are pale yellow, and 

 the long, 5-notched calyx is a pale yellowish-green. The pistil divides 

 at the tip into two curling spires. 



Stocky and sturdy in growth, hearty and wholesome in nature, 

 Bouncing Bet grows in great communities along the waysides, and rail- 

 road embankments ; it is a little ragged in attire, owing to the habit 

 the flowers have of drying up in the calyx. It looks its best under a 

 gray sky. 



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