Soap Plant
Soap Plant
Chlorogalum pomeridianum
(Photo copyright Brother Alfred Brousseau, F.S.C. )
Our soap plant is also known as Amole and has the Latin name
Chlorogalum pomeridianum. It
is a Lily that grows all around the lab, especially over
by the chairs. It likes dry, open hills. Although
it is very common, you have to
make a special effort
to enjoy the delicate beauty of the flowers. Mostly, you will
just notice the basal leaves, which start to appear in March.
A twiggy stem develops in May, with inconspicuous buds. The
flowers only open late in the day or when it is very overcast,
so look for them around twilight. They are mostly pollinated by moths
that avoid the sunlight, but bees also pollinate them.
Ok, so why the name? Both the Indians and the early settlers
used it as a soap.
They stripped the outer coating from the bulb and used the
crushed pulp to wash with. It makes an excellent lather.
As a shampoo, it leaves the hair soft and silky. Baking
destroys the soapy character of the bulbs, making them edible.
The spring shoots are very sweet when cooked. Even the basal
leaves are edible. The
juice from the baking bulbs makes good glue. The
wild pigs are very fond of them. They dig them up and eat them.
(Or maybe they shampoo with them!) There
are other "soap plants" in California, including the
closely-related Chlorogalum augustifolim, which is referred
to as "narrowleaf soap plant," our one being called "wavey-leaf"
to distinguish it. Then there is the unrelated Chenopodium
californiicum.
