Six white, linear, perianth parts 3/4 to 1 1/4 in., with purple or green midveins; they may be spreading or recurved; 6 stamens, with purple or yellow anthers attached at the middle,  and yellow or cream pollen; ovary 3-chambered, superior; stigma 3-lobed. UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-16-11. © Joan Avise

Wavy-leaved Soap Plant

Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. pomeridianum

Occasional on dry slopes in grassland, coastal sage scrub and openings in
chaparral; eastern foothills and Santa Ana Mountains (Roberts). Flowering: May-August.

The common name comes from  juices in the plant bulb containing saponins that form a lather when mixed with water.  Native and early Americans used the bulb as soap, sealant and glue.  The cooked leaves and bulbs were eaten. Bulb fibers were used to stuff mattresses by settlers and for brushes by native Americans. Crushed bulbs were used in water to stun and catch fish, to which saponins are quite toxic.  This practice is now illegal.  More on uses: more.

Native to California

Back to Agavaceae of Orange County, California
Back to Monocots of Orange County, California
Back to Natural History of Orange County, California

UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-16-11. © Joan Avise

Flowers open on cloudy days and in the evening, remaining open during the night, closing by morning. UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-16-11. © Joan Avise

From a 3-6 in. bottle-shaped bulb with a dark brown coat covered with thick, coarse fibers, it forms a basal rosette of 1/4 to 1 in. wide wavy-margined leaves, 8-28 in. long, which stretch in ripples along the ground. UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 2-17-12. © Joan Avise

Flowers borne on a stout, erect, 2-8 ft. leafless, branched spike. UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-24-11. © Joan Avise
Pollination is by night-flying insects. Following flowering, perianth parts pull together, twist and persist for a while on the developing fruit (Clarke). UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-16-11. © Joan Avise

UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-24-11. © Joan Avise

UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-24-11. © Joan Avise
UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-24-11. © Joan Avise

Budding flower spikes UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-07-10. © Joan Avise

UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA.5-24-11. © Joan Avise
UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA.5-16-11. © Joan Avise

UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA.5-16-11. © Joan Avise
Fruit a 3 valved seed capsule. UCI Ecological Preserve, Irvine, CA. 5-07-10. © Joan Avise

Exposed bulb, Whiting Ranch, CNPS, 1-26-14. © Ron Vanderhoff.