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Bolax gummifera

Common name:		Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	(Lam.)Spreng.	Botanical references:	69
Synonyms:	Bolax glebaria (Comm. ex Gaudich.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Southern S. America
Habitat:	Cliffs and rocks, open scrub and heath, forest margins and clearings, feldmark, to 900 metres[69].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	gummifer = gum bearing; gummifera = gum bearing;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.02m by 1.2m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root - raw or roasted[69].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic; Deobstruent.

An oleo-resin obtained from incisions made at the base of the main stem is antispasmodic and deobstruent[4].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

Plants can be used for ground cover, forming a very dense carpet of growth[208].

Cultivation details

Requires a position in full sun in a well-drained gritty humus-rich soil[188, 200].
A cushion plant up to 1.2m in diameter[69], it is often included in the genus Azorella[188]. Plants rarely flower in cultivation[188].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - it may be best to sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring. Stored seed should be sown in late winter in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division of rooting rosettes in the summer[188]

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[69] Moore. D. M. Flora of Tierra del Fuego. Anthony Nelson. 1983 ISBN 0-904614-05-0
Standard work for this part of S. America. Excellent details of habitat and a few notes on plant uses.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Bolax+gummifera
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.