Common Soapwort Traditional Cache

Common Soapwort is plentiful right here, mixed with several other flowers I have caches for. Beware of spines while searching! Keith Ln is probably the closest parking.

Common Soapwort

Saponaria officinalis is a common perennial plant from the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). This plant has many common names, including common soapwort, bouncing-bet, crow soap, wild sweet William, and soapweed. There are about 20 species of soapworts altogether.

The scientific name Saponaria is derived from the Latin sapo (stem sapon-) meaning "soap," which, like its common name, refers to its utility in cleaning. From this same Latin word is derived the name of the toxic substance saponin, contained in the roots at levels up to 20 percent when the plant is flowering (Indian soapnuts contain only 15 percent). It produces a lather when in contact with water. The epithet officinalis indicates its medicinal functions.

Saponaria officinalis' native range extends throughout Europe, and in Asia to western Siberia. It grows in cool places at low or moderate elevations under hedgerows and along the shoulders of roadways.

The plants possesses leafy, unbranched stems (often tinged with red). It grows in patches, attaining a height of 70 cm. The broad, lanceolate, sessile leaves are opposite and between 4 and 12 cm long. Its sweetly scented flowers are radially symmetrical and pink, or sometimes white. Each of the five flat petals have two small scales in the throat of the corolla. They are about 2.5 cm wide. They are arranged in dense, terminal clusters on the main stem and its branches. The long tubular calyx has five pointed red teeth.

The individual flowers open in the evening, and stay open for about three days. They produce a stronger scent at night and supplement nectar production during the night. The flowers are protandrous: on the second night of blooming, the pollen is released, and the stigma develops to its final position by the third night. Much of the seed production comes from self-pollination.

In the northern hemisphere Saponaria officinalis blooms from May to September, and in the southern hemisphere October to March.

As its common name implies, it can be used as a very gentle soap, usually in dilute solution. It has historically been used to clean delicate or unique textiles; it has been hypothesized that the plant was used to treat the Shroud of Turin.

A lathery liquid that has the ability to dissolve fats or grease can be procured by boiling the leaves or roots in water. Take a large handful of leaves, bruise and chop them and boil for 30 minutes in 1 pint/600ml of water; strain off the liquid and use this as you would washing-up liquid.

Here are some of the cache flowers with Common Mullein in the background.

An overdose can cause nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. 

Despite its toxic potential, Saponaria officinalis finds culinary use as an emulsifier in the commercial preparation of tahini halva, and in brewing to create beer with a good "head". In India, the rhizome is used as a galactagogue.

In the Middle East, the root is often used as an additive in the process of making the popular sweet, halvah. The plant is called ‘irq al-ḥalāwah in Arabic, çöven in Turkish, and is utilized to stabilize the oils in the mixture or to create a distinctive texture of halvah.

Soapwort is nicknamed "Bouncing Bette" because a pioneer called Betty was travelling across new terrain, and it was a tradition to leave some gift to other travellers who might come across a camp. Betty had no gifts, but she broke apart her Soapwort plants, which she used for travel soap, and planted stem cuttings for others to find.

Soapwort was used as a laundry powder/cleaner in pioneer days. It actually creates a cleansing soap and when the ladies were washing the clothes they would go break a branch of soapwort to use to clean the clothing. The Pennsylvania Dutch used the lather to give beer a foaming head, and it is still commercially in use.

Everywhere Betty camped she left an abundance of new soapwort plants. Over time the plant became known as the “Bouncing Betty” plant in her honor for planting everywhere she camped before bouncing to a new location.

This is the view from the cache:

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "micro" pill bottle. This one has a snap-on lid, with an arrow pointing to the tab on the lid, to push it open. Please make sure it's sealed all around when you're done. It holds only a rolled log with a rubber band and a plastic bag. Please put it back as you found it. BYOP and no tweezers, please. Also, I appreciate reports on the cache condition, so things can be taken care of if need be. Thanks.