weedsandwildflowers.info PLANT FILES: Baby's Breath

PLANT LIST

Annual Bluegrass

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Barnyard Grass

Bird's-foot Trefoil

Black-eyed Susan

Bladder Campion

Blue Clematis

Blue Elder

Bullrush

Bull Thistle

Burdock

Canada Goldenrod

Canada Hawkweed

Canada Thistle

Carrotleaf Desert Parsley

Chickweed

Chicory

Chocolate Lily

Chokecherry

Clasping Pepperweed

Cleavers

Climbing Nightshade

Comfrey

Common Bugloss

Common Mallow

Common Milkweed

Common Tansy

Coreopsis

Crabgrass

Cranebill Geranium

Creeping Buttercup

Curly Dock

Dalmatian Toadflax

Dames Rocket

Dandelion

Diffuse Knapweed

Eurpean Stickseed

Field Bindweed

Fireweed

Foxtail Barley

Glacier Lily

Great Mullein

Goundsel

Gorse

Henbit

Herb Robert

Hoary Allysum

Honeysuckle

Horsetail

Houndstongue

Indian Blanketflower

Indian Paintbrush

Jointed Goatgrass

Knickaknick

Knotweed

Lamb's Quarters

Lanceleaf Spring Beauty

Leafy Spurge

Lewis Mock Orange

Lupine

Marsh Plume Thistle

Mountain Bluebell

Mountain Snowberry

Old Man's Whiskers

Oregon Grape

Oxeye Daisy

Parasitic Dodder

Pineappleweed

Prairie Coneflower

Puncturevine

Purple Loosestrife

Purple Vetch

Pussy Toes

Quack Grass

Queen's Cup Lily

Rat's Tail Plantain

Red Osier Dogwood

Redroot Pigweed

Rough Cinquefoil

Rush Skeletonweed

Russian Knapweed

St John's Wort

Saskatoon

Scentless Camomile

Scotch Broom

Scotch Thistle

Shepherd's Purse

Shooting Star

Showy Daisy

Shrubby Cinquefoil

Shrubby Penstamon

Siberian Wallflower

Skunk Cabbage

Soapwort

Sow Thistle

Spotted Knapweed

Stinging Nettle

Strawberry

Sulphur Cinquefoil

Sweet White Clover

Sweet Yellow Clover

Tall Tumblemustard

Tansy Ragwort

Thimbleberry

Thread-leafed Phacelia

Upland Larkspur

Virginia Creeper

Water Hemlock

Water Smartweed

Western Goat's Beard

Western Wallflower

Western White Clematis

Wild Flax

White Cockle

White Clover

Wild Buckwheat

Wild Oats

Wild Rose

Wild Violets

Yarrow

Yellow Flag Iris

Home

Plants

Birds

Bugs

Contact

BABY'S BREATH Gypsophila paniculata

	a.k.a Tumbleweed While Baby's Breath is used commercially by florists for flower arrangements and bouquets, in the wild it is sometimes considered a noxious weed. A perennial plant, it grows mostly in waste places, fields, roadsides, beaches and other open, sandy, disturbed sites. It forms sizeable local populations in soils that are not strongly acidic.The plant can reduce the crude protein content of hay in fields it infests.Livestock will graze on the weed. In Europe, the root is used for its saponin content. The white (or rarely light purplish pink) flowers appear in the summer and fall, then the plant dries back to its skeletal form where it becomes tumbleweed-like. At maturity, the plant has a thick, deep penetrating root system which allows it to survive in arid conditions. It survives by a persistent root system which may extend four meters into the soil. The overwintering roots, with abundant food reserves, give rise to new shoots in the spring. The first shoots appear in late April. Branching develops on the shoots in early May. The plants appear leafy at this stage. Flower buds, which do not appear until the third year of growth, appear in early June and occur in clusters. Buds appear from early July into August. Fruits begin to form in mid-July and mature and split open by late July. Seedlings emerge in early May. The seedlings grow to an average height of six cm after six weeks of growth. Only one shoot (with no branching) develops per plant during the first year. The shoots remain green until killed by frost in the fall. Root growth during the first two years of growth is rapid. The weed is able to invade and compete with other species in a number of habitats. The greatest density of plants usually occurs on protected slopes and in ravines where the supply of moisture and opportunity to trap mature tumbling seed-bearing plants is greatest. Botanists do not know how Baby's Breath pollinates but the floral structure suggests cross-pollination. A single plant averages 13,700 seeds with wind appearing to be the most prevalent disperser. Most seeds drop to the ground near the parent plant, but if the seed capsules do not open completely, the seeds may be carried lengthy distances before being dropped. Botanical varieties of Baby's Breath have been developed for compact habit, abundant large petals, and/or pink petals. Occasional naturalized plants are purple-tinged.

All images on this website are protected by copyright. They are NOT FREE. If you wish to use any of these images for any reason, please contact me at sue(at)weedsandwildflowers(dot)info.