''Chlorogalum pomeridianum'', the wavy-leafed soap plant, California soaproot, or Amole, is the most common and most widely distributed of the

soap plant The common names soap plant, soaproot and amole refer to the genus ''Chlorogalum''. They are native to western North America, with some species in Oregon but they are mostly found in California. Common names of the genus and several species deri ...

s, soaproots or amoles, which make up the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Chlorogalum The common names soap plant, soaproot and amole refer to the genus ''Chlorogalum''. They are native to western North America, with some species in Oregon but they are mostly found in California. Common names of the genus and several species deri ...

'' of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s.''Jepson Manual'' (1993) ''Chlorogalum pomeridianum''
. accessed 3.23.2013 It is occasionally known as the "wild potato", but given the plant's lack of either resemblance or relationship to the

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, this name is not recommended. It is found in most of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from the coasts to the western foothills of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, and in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

in southwestern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, but not in either state's desert regions. Wavy-leafed soap plant grows on rock bluffs,

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

, and in open woodlands.

Description

Like all the soap plants, ''Chlorogalum pomeridianum'' is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

that grows from a

bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

, which is brown, between 7 and 15 cm in diameter, slightly elongated, and covered in thick, coarse fibers. The leaves grow from the base of the plant, and can be from 20 to 70 cm long and 6 to 25 mm wide. As the plant's name indicates, their edges are generally wavy, though this is not always particularly noticeable. The flowers are borne on a long stem, normally longer than the leaves, and are from 15 to 30 mm long. The six petals (actually only three of them are

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s in the technical sense; the other three are

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s) are up to 35 mm long and curving. They are typically white but have a noticeable mid-vein which can be purple or green. The six

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are large and noticeable, and yellow or orange. The flowers are hermaphrodites (having both female and male parts). They open only in the late afternoon or evening, remaining open during the night but closing by the morning. Pollination is by evening- or night-flying

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

Subspecies

Three varieties are recognized: *''Chlorogalum pomeridianum'' var. ''divaricatum'' — endemic to some coastal regions of California (the Central Coast and southern parts of the North Coast), found only at elevations below about . *''Chlorogalum pomeridianum'' var. ''minus'' — endemic to the inner north and outer south

Pacific Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States; ; ) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Althoug ...

of California, and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. This variety has a less fibrous bulb than the others. On the

CNPS The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to c ...

Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California The ''CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California'' is a botanical online database providing information on rare, threatened, and endangered List of California native plants, California native plants. It is sponsored by the Calif ...

''. *''Chlorogalum pomeridianum'' var. ''pomeridianum'',

Nomlaki language Nomlaki (Noamlakee), or Wintun, is a moribund Wintuan language of Northern California. It was not extensively documented, however, some recordings exist of speaker Andrew Freeman and Sylvester Simmons. There is at least one partial speaker left. ...

: shlā — found throughout the range of the species. The

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both botan ...

of the species was ''

Scilla ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine ...

pomeridianum''. It has also been known as ''Laothoe pomeridiana''.

Uses

The fibers surrounding the bulb were widely used, bound together, to make small brushes. Extracts of the bulbs could also be used as a sealant or glue. ;Cleansing The juices of the bulb contain

saponins Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are Organic compound, organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high Molar mass, molecul ...

that form a lather when mixed with water, and both

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

people (e.g.

Miwok The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native Americans in the United States, Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok lan ...

tribeC.M. Hogan, 2008) and early European settlers used the bulbs as a kind of

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

; this is the origin of the plant's name. It was particularly used for washing hair, since it was held to be effective against

dandruff Dandruff is a skin condition of the scalp. Symptoms include flaking and sometimes mild itchiness. It can result in social or self-esteem problems. A more severe form of the condition, which includes inflammation of the skin, is known as s ...

.Univ. of Michigan: Species entry in Moerman's Native American Ethnobotany Database: ''Chlorogalum pomeridianum''
/ref> ;Cuisine The young leaves can be used as food, but the

saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...

s in the bulbs make these poisonous. However saponins are very poorly absorbed by the body and usually pass straight through, and in any case they can be destroyed by thorough cooking. The

people roasted and ate the bulbs as a winter food. In February 1847 Patrick Breen of the ill-fated

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...

recorded that a Native American gave the starving settler some "roots resembling Onions in shape

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

taste some like a sweet potatoe, all full of little tough fibres." Breen's son later called the roots "California soap-root"—almost certainly ''C. pomeridianum''. Saponins are much more toxic to some other animals than they are to humans.

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

are particularly susceptible, and the bulb juices were used to kill or stun them so they could be caught easily. ;Medicinal The bulbs also had various medicinal uses, both external (e.g., for making a poultice to be used as an

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

, or as a rub in cases of

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

) and internal (decoctions were used for a range of purposes, including as a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

, as a

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

and against stomachache).

References

External links

Description

Subspecies

Uses

See also

References

External links