Scientific name: Saponaria officinalis L.
Common name: Soapwort
Description
Habit: A hairless perennial, to 90 cm high.
Stems: Erect.
Leaves: Opposite, simple, narrowly oval with 3 conspicuous veins; largest more than 5 cm long.
Flowers: Pink, actinomorphic, 2-3 cm across, in compact corymbose cymes; calyx narrow, tubular, 15-20 mm; petals 5, entire or slightly notched, with scales at the base; stamens 10; styles 2, ovary superior; many plants are 'double' with an extra set of petals replacing the stamens.
Fruits: A capsule, 2.5-3 mm.
Habitat: Roadsides, waste ground.
Distribution: Occasional on the limestone, not recorded elsewhere.
Native status: Not native; naturalised
Of conservation interest: No