Saponaria officinalis L. (S and C-Eur., W-As.) – A common and widely naturalized escape from cultivation. Known since well before 1800 in Belgium (1620, according to Durand 1899). In Flanders it is particularly well represented in coastal dunes and in the valley of river Maas (Van Landuyt 2006), as well as around the larger cities (e.g. Antwerpen and Gent). In Wallonia it is locally common in the valley of rivers Meuse and Sambre.
Saponaria officinalis inhabits any kind of sunny, dry habitats: coastal dunes, dry river banks, abandoned quarries, etc.
A peculiar form with double flowers (cv ‘Flore Pleno’) is also cultivated and some naturalized populations in the wild belong to this cultivar (as seen for instance by quarries along river Schelde near Vaulx).
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Selected literature:
Durand T. (1899) Phanérogames. In: De Wildeman E. & Durand T., Prodrome de la flore belge. A. Castaigne Editeur, Bruxelles: 1112 p.
Krause A. (1983) Zur Entwicklung des Seifenkraut-Queckenrasens (Saponaria officinalis-Agropyron repens-Gesellschaft) im Mündungsgebiet der Ahr. Decheniana 136: 20-29.
Lubke M.A. & Cavers P.B. (1969) The germination ecology of Saponaria officinalis from riverside gravel banks. Canad. J. Bot. 47: 529-535.
Mahran G.H., Balbaa S.I. & El Hossary G.A. (1975) Macro and micromorphology of the flowers of Saponaria officinalis L. grown in Egypt. Egypt. J. Pharm. Sci. 16(1): 1-22.
Mahran G.H., Balbaa S.I. & El Hossary G.A. (1975) Macro and micromorphology of the fruit of Saponaria officinalis L. grown in Egypt. Egypt. J. Pharm. Sci. 16(1): 23-34.
Roca Garcia H. (1972) Weeds: a link with the past, Bouncing Bet. Arnoldia 32(3): 136-137.
Van Landuyt W. (2006) Saponaria officinalis. In: Van Landuyt W., Hoste I., Vanhecke L., Van den Bremt P., Vercruysse W. & De Beer D., Atlas van de flora van Vlaanderen en het Brussels gewest. Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek, Nationale Plantentuin van België en Flo.Wer: 798-799.
Wolff D., Witt T., Jürgens A. & Gottsberger G. (2006) Nectar dynamics and reproductive success in Saponaria officinalis (Caryophyllaceae) in Southern Germany. Flora 201: 353-364.