Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Saponaria"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Saponin \Sap"o*nin\, n. [L. sapo, -onis soap: cf. F. saponine.]
(Chem.)
A poisonous glucoside found in many plants, as in the root of
soapwort ({Saponaria}), in the bark of soap bark
({Quillaia}), etc. It is extracted as a white amorphous
powder, which occasions a soapy lather in solution, and
produces a local an[ae]sthesia. Formerly called also
{struthiin}, {quillaiin}, {senegin}, {polygalic acid}, etc.
By extension, any one of a group of related bodies of which
saponin proper is the type.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Saponaria
n : mostly perennial Old World herbs [syn: {Saponaria}, {genus
Saponaria}]
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