Gypsophila repens

Gypsophila repens, the alpine gypsophila^[2] or creeping baby's breath,^[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, where it grows on dry, chalky slopes.^[4] The Latin name literally means "creeping chalk-lover".^[5] It is a prostrate, mat-forming herbaceous perennial, growing around 20 cm (8 in) tall by 30–50 cm (12–20 in) wide. For much of the summer it bears masses of star-shaped flowers which may be white, lilac or light purple, in loose panicles.^[6][4]

Gypsophila repens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Gypsophila
Species:	G. repens
Binomial name
Gypsophila repens L.
Synonyms[1]
Gypsophila adscendens Jacq. Gypsophila alpestris Jord. & Fourr. Gypsophila dubia Willd. Gypsophila erectiuscula Jord. & Fourr. Gypsophila sabauda Jord. & Fourr.

In cultivation this plant is often grown in rock gardens or against dry stone walls. Like its relative G. paniculata, it is also used as a cut flower. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[7][8]

Gallery

• 
  a pink-flowered single-petalled form
• 
  a pink-flowered double-petalled cultivated form
• 
  a white-flowered form
• 
  foliage