Гіпсофіла

The plant is native to central and eastern Europe. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and wide, with mounds of branching stems covered in clouds of tiny white flowers in summer. Its natural habitat is on the steppes in dry, sandy and stony places, often on calcareous soils.

The genus name comes from the Greek words for gypsum and loving, a reference to the gypsum-rich substrates on which some species grow.

The genus Gypsophila comprises approximately 150 species of annual or perennial herbaceous, creeping or cushion-forming plants, living mainly on the mountainous steppes of the north temperate part of the Old World. Each small flower has a cup-like calyx of white-edged green sepals containing five petals in shades of white or pink.

The major volatile compounds emitted from the inflorescences of the cultivar 'Bristol Fairy' were ocimene, 3-methylbutyric acid, 2-methylbutyric acid, ethanol and n-hexanol. The composition of volatiles varied among cultivars, and ocimene was the most abundant and common constituent detected in all gypsophila cultivars.

The two methylbutyric acids were identified as the compounds that characterize the unpleasant odor of gypsophila inflorescences. They were not detected in the volatiles emitted from 'Bristol Fairy' inflorescences at the bud stage; their emission increased gradually with bud opening and reached its highest level at the full open stage. They were highest in 'Bristol Fairy' and 'Golan', followed by 'Yukinko'.

Gypsophila paniculata is toxic to humans and can cause contact dermatitis. It is much used in the floristry trade, providing an effective backdrop for larger or more structured blooms. In the floristry trade it is often simply called gyp. It is commercially cultivated in Peru, forming a major portion of that country's flower exports.

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