Gypsophila (Annual Baby's-breath, Showy Baby's-breath, Baby's Breath, or Babe's Breath) is species of ornamental flowering plants in the carnation family, Caryophyllaceae, native to Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Turkey has a particularly high diversity of Gypsophila taxa, with about 35 endemic species. The genus name is from the Greek gypsos ("gypsum") and philios ("loving"), a reference to the gypsum-rich substrates on which some species grow.
Gypsophila is one of the most heterogeneous and largest groups in the carnation tribe, Caryophylleae. The genus comprises approximately 150 species of annual or perennial herbaceous, creeping or cushion-forming plants, inhabiting primarily the mountainous steppes in the north temperate part of the Old World with a diversification hotspot in the Irano-Turanian region. These species also show major variation in inflorescence type ranging from many-flowered lax panicles (e.g., G. elegans) to compact head-like cymes, and few uni-flowered raceme-like monochasia. Each small flower has a cup-like calyx of white-edged green sepals containing five petals in shades of white or pink. The fruit is a rounded or oval capsule opening at valves. It contains several brown or black seeds which are often shaped like a kidney or a snail shell.
Gypsophila elegans, and a few other species, are commercially cultivated for several uses, including floristry, herbal medicine, and food. The baby's-breath most commonly used in flower arrangements is the common gypsophila, G. paniculata. G. elegans is also used as a cut flower.
The genus is a source of saponins that can be used for many purposes, including the production of photographic film and hemolytic laboratory reagents. Their detergent qualities make them useful in soaps and shampoos. G. rokejeka is used to make the dessert, Halva. Some species are also used as ingredients in liquor, cheese, and ice cream, providing flavor, aroma, and crispness to foods. Several species are also hyperaccumulators of boron, and may be planted to absorb the element from polluted soils.
Some species are considered weeds, including the "aggressive ornamental" G. paniculata, which invades habitats and competes with native flora. The plant Çöven, Gypsophila simonii is widely distributed throughout Çankırı and Turkey, where it is a native species. In this study, chemical and physical properties of unripe saponins obtained by extraction from the roots of Gypsophila simonii, an endemic plant, were isolated and investigated. Purified aglycones recovered from acid hydrolysis of the saponins were separated by reversed chromatography on a thin layer of silica gel. Phytochemical tests showed the presence of terpenoids in the crude extracts. Gypsophila muralis (annual gypsophila, cushion baby's-breath, low baby's-breath) is now placed in the genus Psammophiliella.
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