Soapwort Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) is bouncing bet, a perennial of the pink family, Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe and western Asia and now naturalized along roadsides, railways and stream banks across North America. It spreads by rhizomes into patches 30 to 90 cm tall with smooth, stout stems, opposite oval leaves with three prominent veins, and clusters of pale pink, five-petaled flowers with a long tubular calyx that are fragrant in the evening. The roots and leaves lather when rubbed in water, from the saponins that give the plant both its names. We extract the dried root.