Gypsophila cerastioides

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Caryophyllaceae

Herbs annual or perennial , rarely subshrubs or shrubs . Stems and branches usually swollen at nodes. Leaves opposite, decussate, rarely alternate or verticillate , simple , entire, usually connate at base ; stipules scarious , bristly , or often absent. Inflorescence of cymes or cymose panicles, rarely flowers solitary or few in racemes , capitula, pseudoverticillasters, or umbels. Flowers actinomorphic , bisexual , rarely unisexual , occasionally cleistogamous . Sepals (4 or) 5, free , imbricate, or connate into a tube , leaflike or scarious, persistent , sometimes bracteate below calyx. Petals (4 or) 5, rarely absent, free, often comprising claw and limb; limb entire or split, usually with coronal scales at juncture of claw and limb. Stamens (2--) 5--10, in 1 or 2 series. Pistil 1; carpels 2--5, united into a compound ovary. Ovary superior, 1-loculed or basally imperfectly 2--5-loculed. Gynophore present or absent. Placentation free, central, rarely basal; ovules (1 or) few or numerous , campylotropous. Styles (1 or) 2--5, sometimes united at base. Fruit usually a capsule, with pericarp crustaceous , scarious, or papery , dehiscing by teeth or valves 1 or 2 × as many as styles, rarely berrylike with irregular dehiscence or an achene. Seeds 1 to numerous, reniform , ovoid , or rarely dorsiventrally compressed , abaxially grooved , blunt , or sharply pointed , rarely fimbriate-pectinate; testa granular , striate or tuberculate , rarely smooth or spongy ; embryo strongly curved and surrounding perisperm or straight but eccentric ; perisperm mealy.

Between 75 and 80 genera and ca. 2000 species: widespread but mainly of temperate or warm-temperate occurrence in the N hemisphere, with principal centers of distribution in the Mediterranean region and W Asia to W China and the Himalayas, fewer species in Africa S of the Sahara, America, and Oceania; 30 genera (two endemic) and 390 species (193 endemic) in China.

Arenaria, Silene, and Stellaria contain over half the species in the family in China. They are mostly concentrated in the Qinghai-Xizang plateau , and are especially rich from the Hengduan Mountains to the Himalayas. The main uses of this family are medicinal and ornamental . Dianthus superbus, Pseudostellaria heterophylla, Stellaria dichotoma var. lanceolata, and Vaccaria hispanica are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine . Some species of Arenaria, Dianthus, Gypsophila, Psammosilene, and Silene are used as medicinal herbs among the people or are habitually used in local Chinese medicine. Many species of Dianthus, Gypsophila, Lychnis, Saponaria, and Silene are grown as ornamentals. Atocion armeria (Linnaeus) Rafinesque ( Silene armeria Linnaeus), native to Russia and Europe, is also cultivated in China. It differs from Silene in having a corymbose inflorescence and obscure calyx veins. Wu Cheng-yih, Ke Ping, Zhou Li-hua, Tang Chang-lin & Lu De-quan. 1996. Caryophyllaceae. In: Tang Chang-lin, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 26: 47–449.[1]

Genus Gypsophila

Plants annual or perennial . Taproots slender to stout, sometimes absent; perennials often with stout, branched caudices, some with adventitious roots from decumbent stems or elongating rhizomes. Stems erect , ± sprawling , or less often decumbent or prostrate , usually branched, terete . Leaves briefly connate proximally, sessile; blade 1- or 3-5-veined, linear to oblong or ovate , apex rounded or obtuse to acuminate. Inflorescences dichasial cymes or thyrses , diffuse (to subcapitate in G. oldhamiana) ; bracts paired , proximal bracts foliaceous , distal ones smaller, herbaceous with scarious margins ; involucel bracteoles absent. Pedicels erect in fruit. Flowers: sepals connate proximally into cup , 1-5 mm, cup green and white, 5-veined, not winged , obconic to campanulate , terete to 5-angled, commissures between sepals veinless, broad, scarious; lobes green at least along midrib , usually ovate to elliptic , equaling or longer than cup, margins white, scarious, apex rounded to obtuse, sometimes mucronate ; petals 5, white, pink, or rose-purple, claw poorly differentiated, auricles absent, coronal appendages absent; blade apex entire or shallowly emarginate to 2-fid, nectaries at filament bases ; stamens 10, arising with petals from low nectariferous disc; filaments distinct nearly to base; staminodes absent; ovary 1-locular; styles 2(-3), clavate , 1.2-2.5 mm, glabrous proximally; stigmas 2(-3), subterminal , papillate (30×). Capsules globose or ellipsoid-ovoid, opening by 4(-6) slightly distally recurving valves ; carpophore absent. Seeds 4-36, brown to black, reniform to snail-shell-shaped, laterally compressed , tuberculate , marginal wing absent, appendages absent; embryo peripheral, curved . x = 17, 12 (Eurasia ), 18 (Eurasia) ; aneuploidy occasional.

Species ca. 150: introduced ; temperate Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia; introduced in South America.

Gypsophila species are widely grown as ornamentals . In addition to those treated below, other European and Asiatic species have appeared sporadically in disturbed habitats in the flora area, sometimes remote from any site where likely to have been planted, but have not become established . Gypsophila pilosa Hudson [G. porrigens (Linnaeus) Boissier], which differs from G. elegans in its stems villous or hispid proximal to the inflorescence, slender pedicels that persist after the flowers and fruits have fallen, and consistently pink petals, has been found at waste-disposal sites in Maryland, New York, and Oregon. Gypsophila repens Linnaeus, a rhizomatous perennial species with prostrate to decumbent primary stems and more or less erect flowering branches to 3 dm, similar to G. elegans in floral characters, has been found escaped from cultivation in British Columbia and Maine. Gypsophila oldhamiana F. A. W. Miquel was found in a field in Alabama in 1969 [Rebois 049 (AUA) ]. It has pink petals and differs from other species described here in its densely corymboid to subcapitate inflorescences. Additional species are cultivated in the flora area.[2]

Habitat

Biome: Disturbed areas, urban areas.

Biology

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun .

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Timaeosia Cerastioides

Notes

A tentatively accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Gypsophila

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 38 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

G. acorzonerifolia (Babysbreath) · G. acutifolia (Sharp-Leaf Baby's-Breath) · G. aretioides (Gypsophila) · G. arrostii (Arrost's Babysbreath) · G. briquetiana (Babys Breath) · G. cerastioides (Baby's Breath) · G. cerastoides (Babys Breath) · G. elegans (Babys Breath) · G. elegans 'Carminea' (Babys Breath) · G. elegans 'Giant White' (Babys Breath) · G. elegans 'Snow Fountain' (Babys Breath) · G. fastigiata 'Silverstar' (Babys Breath) · G. muralis (Annual Gypsophila) · G. muralis 'Garden Bride' (Annual Gypsophila) · G. muralis 'Gypsy Deep Rose' (Annual Gypsophila) · G. oldhamiana (Oldham's Babysbreath) · G. paniculata (Baby's Breath) · G. paniculata Snowflake (Baby's Breath) · G. paniculata var. Paniculata (Baby's Breath) · G. paniculata 'Bristol Fairy' (Bristol Fairy Baby's Breath) · G. paniculata 'Compacta Plena' (Babys Breath) · G. paniculata 'Festival Star' (Babys Breath) · G. paniculata 'Pink Star' (Babys Breath) · G. paniculata 'Rumba' (Baby's Breath 'rumba') · G. paniculata 'Viette's Dwarf' (Babys Breath) · G. perfoliata (Perfoliate Baby's-Breath) · G. perfoliata var. latifolia (Perfoliate Babysbreath) · G. perfoliata var. perfoliata (Perfoliate Babysbreath) · G. petraea (Babys Breath) · G. pilosa (Applecactus) · G. repens (Creeping Babysbreath) · G. repens 'Alba' (Creeping Baby's Breath) · G. repens 'Rosea' (Creeping Baby's Breath) · G. scorzonerifolia (Baby's Breath) · G. stevenii (Steven's Babysbreath) · G. tenuifolia (Babys Breath) · G. violacea (Gypsophila) · G. 'Perfecta' (Babys Breath)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A little book of perennials, by Alfred C. Hottes. New York, N. Y., The A. T. De La Mare1923. url p. 167.
• A practical guide to garden plants, containing descriptions of the hardiest and most beautiful annuals and biennials, hardy herbaceous and bulbous perennials, hardy water and bog plants, flowering and ornamental trees and shrubs, conife London;Longmans, Green, 1901. url , , p. 103, p. 248.
• Afoot through the Kashmir valleys, London: Sands & company, 1901. url p. xxix.
• Alpine flowers for gardens: rock, wall, marsh plants, and mountain shrubs / by W. Robinson. London: John Murray, 1903. url p. 235.
• Alpine flowers for gardens; rock, wall, marsh plants, and mountain shrubs, by W. Robinson. London, J. Murray, 1910. url p. 235.
• Alpine plants, a practical manual for their culture, with a supplementary essay on The small rock-garden. London, C. Scribner's Sons, 1906, 1907. url .
• Alpine plants: a practical method for growing the rarer and more difficult alpine flowers / by W.A. Clark; with illustrations from photographs by Clarence Elliott. London: C. Scribner, 1901. url p. 97.
• An Alpine A B C and list of easy rock plants, arranged by A. Methuen. New York, E. P. Dutton and company[1922] url p. 17.
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden record. 31 1931 [Brooklyn]: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1912-44. url p. 201.
• Bulletin of miscellaneous information. Additional Series. Royal Gardens, Kew. 4 1900 [Kew, Surrey: Royal Botanic Gardens], 1898-1936; url p. 197.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 245.
• Commercial gardening, a practical & scientific treatise for market gardeners, market growers, fruit, flower & vegetable growers, nurserymen, etc. By many practical specialists under the editorship of John Weathers. London, The Gresham publishing company, 1913. url p. 51.
• Garden and forest; a journal of horticulture, landscape art and forestry. New York: The Garden and forest publishing co., 1888-97. url , p. 256.
• Gardening for amateurs; a simple, complete, and practical guide for garden lovers, edited by H. H. Thomas. Illustrated by twenty-four coloured plates and many hundreds of photographs and sketches. New York: Funk and Wagnalls company, [1915] url p. 609.
• Gardening for beginners; a handbook to the garden, by E. T. Cook. New York, Charles Scribner's sons, 1901. url p. 485.
• Horticulture. Boston, Mass.: Horticulture Pub. Co., c1904- url p. 107.
• Irish gardening. Dublin: Pub. Office, 1906-1922 url p. 39.
• Journal and proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 4 1908 Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal. url p. 212.
• Journal of the Horticultural Society of New York. New York City: The Society, 1906-1924. url p. 16.
• Journal of the proceedings of the Linnean Society. Botany. 6 1862 London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts: ||Williams and Norgate, 1857-1864. url p. 66.
• Nicholson, G. The illustrated dictionary of gardening: a practical and scientific encyclopædia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists /edited by George Nicholson; assisted by J.W.H. Trail. .. and J. Garrett. .. 9 1884 London: L.U. Gill, [1884]-88. url p. 387.
• Rock gardening for amateurs, by H. H. Thomas assisted by S. Arnott; beautifully illustrated with twelve direct colour photographs by H. Essenhigh Corke, sixty-four half-tone plates and numerous sketches. London, Cassell and company, limited, 1914. url p. 227, p. 262.
• Standardized plant names; a catalogue of approved scientific and common names of plants in American commerce. Salem, Mass., 1923. url p. 194, p. 289.
• The English flower garden and home grounds: design and arrangement shown by existing examples of gardens in Great Britain and Ireland, followed by a description of the plants, shrubs, and trees for the open-air garden and their culture / by W. Robinson. London: J. Murray, 1911. url p. 597.
• The Florists' exchange: a weekly medium of interchange for florists, nurserymen, seedsmen and the trade in general. New York, N.Y.: [A.T. De la Mare Ptg. and Pub. Co., url p. 1367, p. 639.
• The Garden: an illustrated weekly journal of gardening in all its branches. London: [s.n., url , , , , , p. 101, p. 119, p. 135, p. 14, p. 149, p. 212, p. 336, p. 339, p. 344, p. 385, p. 422, p. 431, p. 454, p. 463, p. 474, p. 48, p. 48, p. 515, p. 546, p. 56, p. 593, p. 602, p. 7.
• The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url , p. 18, p. 360, p. 364, p. 392, p. 397, p. 421, p. 568, p. 599, p. 631, p. 813.
• The Illustrated dictionary of gardening: a practical and scientific encyclopaedia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists / edited by George Nicholson. ..; assisted by J.W.H. Trail. .. and J. Garrett. ... London: L. Upcott Gill; 1887-1889. url p. 368, p. 435.
• The Journal of the Linnean Society. Botany. 18 1881 London: the Society: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green: ||Williams and Norgate, 1865-1968. url p. 373, p. 396, p. 407.
• The complete home landscape, by Arthur J. Jennings, in collaboration with Leonard H. Johnson. New York, A. T. De La Mare, 1924. url p. 155.
• The garden month by month; describing the appearance, color, dates of bloom, height and cultivation of all desirable, hardy herbaceous perennials for the formal or wild garden with additional lists of aquatics, vines, ferns, et by Mabel Cabot Sedgwick assisted by Robert Cameron with over two hundred half-tone engravings from photographs of growing plants, and a chart in colors. New York, F.A. Stokes Co., [1907] url .
• The gardener's companion. With an introduction by Lady Alwyne Compton. London: Mills & Boon, [1909] url p. 45.
• The perfect garden, how to keep it beautiful and fruitful, with practical hints on eonomical management and the culture of all the principal flowers, fruits, and vegetables; Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott company; [etc., etc.]1908. url p. 386.
• The rock garden, London, C. Scribner's sons, 1920. url .
• The story of my rock garden, by Reginald A. Malby. .. with introduction by W. Irving. .. illustrated with photographic reproductions and colour plates by the author. London, Headly bros., publishers, ltd.[1919] url p. 123, p. 47.
• Transactions and proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. [Edinburgh]: The Society, 1891-1970. url p. 434.
• Barkoudah, Y. I. 1962. A revision of Gypsophila, Bolanthus, Ankyropetalum and Phryna. Wentia 9: 1-203.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 11, 2012.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5837715
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16083123
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 743121

Footnotes

1. Dequan Lu, Zhengyi Wu, Lihua Zhou, Shilong Chen, Michael G. Gilbert, Magnus Lidén, John McNeill, John K. Morton, Bengt Oxelman, Richard K. Rabeler, Mats Thulin, Nicholas J. Turland & Warren L. Wagner "Caryophyllaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 6 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. James S. Pringle "Gypsophila". in Flora of North America Vol. 5. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.