Soapwort

Herbaceous plant up to 80 cm tall with a thickened tuber and strongly branched roots. Lanceolate leaves on a hairy stem, white to pale pink flowers, capsule fruits with black-brown seeds. Flowering time: June to October, fruit ripening: September to October.
Due to the concentration of saponins, the plant foams in water, hence the name soapwort. A distinction is made between the white and the red soapwort. see under Soapwort true, see also Saponariae alba radix and Saponariae rubrae radix. Soapworts belong to the clove family and are native to Central Europe, today popular as a garden plant. In the literature, some white and some red soapwort are referred to as Saponaria officinalis, as is the phytotherapeutic use, or the Commission E monograph.

In the past, the root was used as a soap for cleaning, even today as an alternative cleaning agent for carpets and upholstered furniture, especially for cleaning antique textiles and furniture.

In contrast to red soap root, white soap root is derived from Gypsophila paniculata L., another plant species in the Caryophyllaceae family

1. Montag A (2023) Plants and skin. Springer-Verlag Ltd. S. 881-882
2. https://www.naturadb.de/pflanzen/gattung/seifenkraeuter/