Baby's breath adds a touch of fresh elegance to green living

[Name]

Latin scientific name: Gypsophila (meaning "lover of lime")

Chinese scientific name: Baby's breath, Gypsophila paniculata

Chinese aliases: Gypsophila, baby's breath

[Place of origin]:Europe, Asia, northern Africa

Native to Eurasia. Gypsophila muralis grows up to 50 cm (20 in) tall; much branched; leaves narrow, blue-green; widely cultivated, common cultivars include "Carminea" (deep rose-red flowers), "Grandiflora Alba" (large, white flowers) and "Rosea" (pale rose-colored flowers). Baby's breath grows up to 1 m (40 in) tall, similar in appearance to Gypsophila muralis, but with thick rhizomes, flowers white to pale pink; common cultivars include "Compacta" (dense foliage), "Flore Pleno" (double flowers) and "Grandiflora" (large flowers).

[Morphology]Baby's breath, formerly called double-flowered gypsophila, is native to the Mediterranean coast. It belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family as a perennial herbaceous flower. It is an evergreen dwarf small shrub, with a plant height of about 65-70 cm, slender and smooth stems, and very many branches; the leaves are narrow and long, sessile, opposite, and powdery green in color. In early summer, countless flower buds gather at the tips of the branches; the flowers are as fine as beans, each with 5 petals, pure white like clouds, with a slight fragrance, like ten thousand stars shining, hanging all over the horizon. If viewed from afar, it seems like morning mist or evening glow, hence the alias "xia cao" (glow grass).

[Habits]It prefers a warm, humid and sunny environment, is relatively shade-tolerant and cold-tolerant, and grows best in well-drained, fertile and loose loam soil. The cultivation soil is best as slightly alkaline calcareous loam, with good drainage and sunlight. Once the plant height is above 20 cm, reduce the amount of watering; slight drought can promote flowering. Especially after flowering, poor drainage or prolonged rain can easily rot the roots. It likes warmth and avoids high temperature and excessive humidity; the suitable growth temperature is 10-25°C.

[Propagation and cultivation]Suitable germination temperature: 15-20°C. Sowing period: autumn to early spring. Suitable growth temperature: 10-25°C. Flowering period: May-July. Seedling raising: choose loose soil to make a bed, sow in September, cover lightly with fine soil, germinate in about 10 days, and move to a cold frame before winter to overwinter. Cultivation: in the following spring, transplant with soil to the open field; after the seedlings are established, pinch once to encourage more branching. When the plant height is above 20 cm, reduce the amount of watering; slight drought can promote flowering. It blooms in mid-to-late May. This species can also be directly sown in the open field before freezing in November or sown in early spring.

Cuttage propagation is the main method. In spring, carry out hardwood cuttings; cut 10-15 cm long mature branches from the previous year and insert them into a sand bed; they generally root in about 30 days. In the plum rain season, softwood cuttings can be used; select the current year's tender tips for cutting, and they root in 2-3 weeks after insertion. When repotting every spring, add fresh fertile soil; during the growing period, keep the potting soil moist and fertilize once every 2 weeks to promote more branches and leaves and abundant flowering. In autumn, pay attention to pruning the whole plant to maintain a good plant shape. The main disease and insect pests of baby's breath include leaf spot disease, which can be sprayed with 65% zineb wettable powder at 600 times dilution. Pests include aphids and red spiders, which can be killed by spraying with 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution.

[Pest and disease control]Stem rot and stunting disease are fatal diseases of baby's breath. Before planting, the soil should be disinfected with formaldehyde solution. Pests are mainly mites and aphids, which can be killed by spraying with dicofol at 1000 times dilution and fenvalerate at 1500 times dilution.

[Uses]In early summer, baby's breath produces continuous small white flowers; the flowers are abundant, delicate and evenly distributed. Like stars, hazy and charming, and also like snow covering a whole tree, clear and lovely, it is suitable for planting in flower beds, roadsides and flower hedges, and is also very suitable for potted ornamental display and bonsai making. Baby's breath is likewise an indispensable filler flower in flower arrangements; inserting a few stems of baby's breath into a bouquet adds a touch of charm.

Baby's breath is a flower loved by those of elegant taste, and has always embodied the meaning of "pure, far-reaching, romantic." Hundreds of exquisite, delicate, pure white small flowers gather loosely together, like little stars in the boundless night sky, hazy like mist, full of graceful and plain beauty, and also gentle and moving like a lover's breath. When a breeze passes, a light fragrance spreads in all directions, making it seem even more warm and cozy.

[Flower language]Missing, pure, dream, true love, supporting role, but indispensable

[Symbolic blood type]Type A

[Representative zodiac sign]Capricorn

[Purchasing]It is best to choose those with pure white, full flowers, few blind branches, and fresh green, elastic stems.

[Vase life of cut flowers]8-12 days

[Gifting recipients]

1. As a companion material for roses given to a lover, it can create a beautiful love story;

2. Paired with gladiolus and given to graduating classmates, it means "great prospects."

2. Medicinal plant -- Hydrocotyle

Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides var. batrachium, Hydrocotyle pusilla, star grass

[Name]

Chinese scientific name: Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides var. batrachium, Hydrocotyle pusilla

Chinese aliases: baby's breath, po tong qian, luo de da, star grass

[Plant morphology]Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides is a perennial dwarf herb with an odor. The stems are slender and creeping, spreading flat on the ground in patches. Leaves alternate, round or kidney-shaped, 0.5-3.5 cm in diameter, not divided or 5-7 deeply lobed to the middle, with blunt teeth on the edges, green above, smooth or sparsely hairy, usually pubescent below; petioles slender, 0.5-9 cm long. Simple umbels opposite the leaves, growing at the nodes, the umbel stalk 0.5-3 cm long; involucral bracts 4-10, oblanceolate, about 2 mm long; each umbel has 10-15 flowers, flowers sessile or with short stalks; no calyx teeth, petals ovate, greenish white. The schizocarp is slightly heart-shaped, flattened on the sides, smooth or spotted, with the central ridge slightly sharp. Flowering period May.

It grows by damp roadsides, grasslands, hillsides, wall bases, riverbanks, and streamsides. Distributed in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan.

[Harvesting and processing]Harvest in summer and autumn when flowers and leaves are luxuriant, wash clean, dry in the shade or use fresh.

[Chemical constituents]Contains flavonoids, phenols, amino acids, volatile oil, coumarins.

[Nature and flavor]Neutral in nature, pungent in taste.

[Functions and indications]Clears heat and promotes diuresis, resolves phlegm and relieves cough. Used for acute icteric hepatitis, acute nephritis, pertussis, urinary tract stones, athlete's foot, herpes zoster, conjunctivitis, erysipelas. Baby's breath