<h2 id="c19">SOAPWORT OR BOUNCING BET. <br/><span class="small">(<i>Saponaria officinalis.</i>)</span></h2>
<p>The plant commonly called Soapwort
or Bouncing Bet also bears other popular
names, many of which are purely local.
Some of these are Hedge Pink,
Bruisewort, Sheepweed, Old Maid’s
Pink and Fuller’s Herb. It bears the
name Soapwort because of a substance
called saponin which is a constituent of
its roots and causes a foaming that appears
like soap suds when the powdered
root is shaken with water.</p>
<p>Soapwort belongs to a large group
of plants called the Caryophyllaceæ, or
pink family. In this family there are
about fifteen hundred species. These
are widely distributed, but are most
abundant in the Northern Hemisphere,
extending to the Arctic regions and to
the tops of very high mountains. The
popular and beautiful carnations and
some of the most common plants that
grow abundantly in waste places also
belong to the pink family. The Soapwort
comes to us from Europe, where in
some localities it is a common wild
flower. In this country when it was first
introduced it was simply a pretty cultivated
garden plant. However, it lives
from year to year and spreads by means
of underground stems. It was not very
long before it had escaped from yards to
roadsides, where frequently large patches
may be seen. The flowers are large and
quite showy. The color of the petals is
usually pinkish white. Blossoming in
July, August and September, the Soapwort
often beautifies waste places which
other plants seem to shun. It is perhaps
more generally loved than any other of
our old-fashioned garden flowers. It
grows luxuriantly without cultivation
and seems to quite hold its own even
among rank growths of weeds and grass.
It is hard to tell what is the significance
of the name Bouncing Bet, perhaps the
most popular of all the names by which
this plant is known.</p>
<p>Alice Lounsberry says: “It was always
a mystery to Dickens that a doornail
should have been considered so much
more dead than any other inanimate object,
and it seems also strange that this
plant should have suggested the idea of
bouncing more than other plants. Dear
Bettie does not bounce, nor could she if
she would. She sits most firmly on her
stem, and her characteristics seem to be
home-loving and simple. We are sure
to find her peeping through the garden
fence.”</p>
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