What is the difference between baby's breath and Gypsophila? A detailed comparison explained in one go
Baby's breath is Gypsophila; the two are the same plant. Gypsophila has a wide range of uses, combining ornamental and medicinal value. Because its flowers are small, light-colored, and its flower posture is fluffy with a three-dimensional feel, its temperament is elegant and refined, giving people a hazy impression, and the group effect of the inflorescence is excellent, it is one of the most popular cut flowers.
1. Morphological characteristics of Gypsophila
A perennial herbaceous plant, with a plant height of more than 90 cm. It has a fleshy root that looks like a thick “ginseng”, milky yellow, with a few fibrous roots. The leaves are lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, sessile, opposite at the nodes, with swollen nodes, purplish red, and the internodes are green and covered with a waxy powder. The flowers are small, white, and pale pink. The calyx is short bell-shaped, gathered into loose paniculate cymes, and the small flowers within each inflorescence open first at the top and gradually extend downward. Under natural conditions, the flowering period is from May to June.
2. Main values
Gypsophila can be used as medicine. Its root is slightly cold in nature, sweet in taste, and non-toxic. It enters the liver and stomach meridians and has the effects of clearing heat and cooling blood, promoting blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and promoting tissue regeneration. It is mainly used to treat muscle heat and consumptive disease, bone-steaming, chronic malaria due to yin deficiency, infantile malnutrition fever, and traumatic injuries, fractures, and other disorders. According to reports, Gypsophila contains a variety of bioactive substances, mainly including volatile oil, flavonoids, glycosides, carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B, mineral elements, and so on. Modern pharmacological studies show that total saponins from Gypsophila and other components have a certain inhibitory activity against human tumor cell lines in vitro, and also have anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, and anti-fatty liver effects.
Gypsophila polysaccharides have a strong scavenging capacity for DPPH free radicals. Different concentrations of Gypsophila polysaccharides all have a certain effect on scavenging DPPH free radicals, and as the polysaccharide concentration increases, the ability of Gypsophila polysaccharides to scavenge DPPH free radicals significantly increases, showing an obvious dose-effect relationship. When the concentration of Gypsophila polysaccharides is above 0.30 mg/mL, the scavenging efficiency for DPPH free radicals exceeds 81%, which indicates that Gypsophila polysaccharides have strong antioxidant activity in vitro. The results of the DPPH free radical scavenging test of water-soluble polysaccharides from Gypsophila show that water-soluble polysaccharides from Gypsophila are expected to serve as a natural antioxidant and functional substance, with high research value and prospects for development and application.
Gypsophila flowers are very beautiful ornamental flowers. Their purity, care, longing, supporting role, true love, and pure heart make them one of the most popular cut flowers at present.