Saponaria officinalis

Bouncing bet

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Bouncing bet is a naturalized perennial found in northwestern California, the high Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada Foothill, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coastal Range, southern California, Peninsular Ranges, and Great Basin in roadsides, oak woodland, streambeds, and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,850 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces pink flowers with white-edged petals 8 to 12 millimeters wide, featuring delicate lance-linear appendages. Growing with erect or branching stems 30 to 90 centimeters tall that are mostly smooth and hairless, it forms robust clumps in disturbed landscapes. Its opposite leaves are 3 to 10 centimeters long, creating a dense green backdrop for the flower clusters. The small seeds are nearly spherical, about 1.5 to 2 millimeters in size, with a distinctive notched surface.

Habitat: Roadsides, oak woodland, streambeds, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 1850 m

Bioregions: NW, CaRH, n SNF, SnFrB, SCoRO, SCo, PR, GB

California counties: Humboldt, Inyo, Modoc, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Clara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Del Norte, Mono, El Dorado, Sonoma, Plumas, Butte, Tehama, Sierra, Lassen, San Luis Obispo, Tuolumne, Yuba, Alpine, Alameda, Trinity, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Nevada, Stanislaus, Merced, Santa Cruz

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.