Plant is an upright, smooth perennial that forms colonies. Preferred habitat is roadsides, fields, waste sites and yards. Distribution is throughout the Escambia region.

Leaves are opposite on the stem; no leaf stalks; widest at the middle or lance-like; no teeth and no lobes. Leaf tip tapers to the end with sides less than equal; base graduates to a narrow point.

Flowers are in terminal clusters; bisexual; symmetrical in form; five sepals, five petals; rotate like a wheel; white or pink with ten stamens. Flowering occurs in the summer.

Fruit is a capsule.

This plant is a native of Europe. A soapy lather forms when the plant is mixed with water. It is reported to be poisonous. This phlox-like plant is spread by underground stems. Bouncing Bet is an old-fashioned nickname for a washer woman.