FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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BEAUTIFUL -- AND USEFUL TOO: THAT'S AMOLE By Laverne Rabinowitz People unfamiliar with the Soap Plant by name might not realize that the plant that produces clusters of lovely orchid-like blossoms in the early summer months has such practical applications just below the surface. Soap Plant or Amole (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) grows in the grasslands, the chaparral, and the forested areas of Edgewood. A good spot for viewing it is near the Sunset entrance. The plant is a bulb (1 to 4 inches in diameter), which starts its growth early in the year by sending out several long, basal grasslike leaves (usually with wavy margins) which lie almost flat on the ground. In June, the plant begins to send up a stalk that can reach from two to five feet in height. Moth-pollinated, the white flowers open only late in the day, and look like delicate lilies or orchids with purple veins, nodding on their stalks. What we don't see beneath the surface of the soil is the bulb, the most interesting part of the plant. Both the Native Americans and the early Spanish-Californians found many uses for the bulb or root -- both fresh and cooked: As the name hints, when the coating is removed and the bulb is crushed and rubbed on hands or clothes in water, it creates a fine lather for washing body and garments (including delicate fabrics!). The bulb's properties are also gentle enough that it can be used for a good shampoo. The crushed bulb can be rubbed on the body to relieve rheumatic pains and cramps, and perhaps as a salve for poison oak rashes. And the Native Americans used the crushed bulbs as a fishing method: the bulbs were thrown into pools or dammed streams and their juices in the water stunned the fish, causing them to float to the surface where they could be picked out by net (without poisoning the fish).
The bulbs were also cooked by slow roasting in ground-pits: For the Native Americans, they were a good food source of starch. The cooked bulbs contained fiber which could be made into small brushes. The bulbs were made into poultices used on sores. And the thick juice obtained from the cooking was used as a glue to attach feathers to arrowshafts. The outer fibers of the bulb are coarse and were also used to make brushes as well as to fill mattresses. There's more to tell, but these important uses of a native wildflower help us to understand the resourcefulness of our ancestors in this area. They knew how to dig below the surface! Primary reference for this article: Early Uses of California Plants, by Edward K. Balls (Berkeley & Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1962). |
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