Common Name: Soap Lily

General Information

Chlorogalum pomeridianum is a perennial plant growing from a large bulb that can be 7 - 15cm in diameter. It produces a cluster of leaves around 20 - 70cm long and 6 - 25mm wide and a flowering stem around 30 - 250cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Known Hazards

The bulb contains saponins. Although poisonous, saponins also have a range of medicinal applications and many saponin-rich plants are used in herbalism (particularly as emetics, expectorants and febrifuges) or as sources of raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry. Saponins are also found in a number of common foods, such as many beans.
Saponins have a quite bitter flavour and are in general poorly absorbed by the human body, so most pass through without harm. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of raw foods that contain saponins.
Saponins are much more toxic to many cold-blooded creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish and make them easy to catch[].

Botanical References

, ,

Range

South-western N. America - Oregon, California.

Habitat

Common on dry open hills and plains, occasionally in woods and chaparral; at elevations up to 1,500 metres[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	1.20 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in any reasonably good well-drained soil[, ]. Prefers a rich well-drained moisture retentive soil[]. Tolerates partial shade[]. Dislikes dry soils according to one report[] but plants grow in dry soils in the wild[].
Plants are frost hardy but they come into new growth in the autumn and so need to be grown in a warm sheltered position, especially in colder areas of the country[]. The bulbs can be damaged by heavy frosts[].
The roots are brittle so any transplanting should be done with care[].

Edible Uses

Bulb - cooked[, , , ]. A slow baking in its skin will remove any soapiness in the taste[]. The bulb should be peeled before being eaten since the skin is fibrous[]. The bulb can also be peeled and then boiled, though the water it is cooked in should be thrown away[]. Although wholesome and nutritious when thoroughly cooked, the raw bulb should not be eaten because it contains saponins[]. The bulb is very large and can be up to 15cm in diameter[].

Young leaves - raw or cooked[]. Used as a potherb when harvested in the spring, they are very sweet when slowly baked[, , ].

Medicinal

Soap lily bulbs contain saponins, medicinally active compounds that are of particular value as an antiseptic wash. Saponins are somewhat toxic (see the notes above on toxicity) and so any internal use of this plant should be carried out with great care[].

The bulb is antiseptic, carminative, diuretic and laxative[, ]. A decoction has been used to treat wind in the stomach[].
Externally, the bulbs have been rubbed on rheumatic joints[]. The pounded bulbs were mixed with water and used as a hair wash in the treatment of dandruff, to prevent lice and also to treat skin irritations including that caused by poison oak[, ]. A poultice of the baked bulbs has been used as an antiseptic on skin sores[].

Other Uses

A glue can be made from the sap that is expressed from baking bulbs[, , ].

The bulbs can be boiled into a liquid starch which can then be used to twined baskets to close the interstices so that seeds do not fall through[].

A soap is obtained from the bulb[, , , ]. The bulb is stripped of its outer fibrous covering and rubbed on clothes or hands in water to produce a lather[, ]. It is very good for delicate fabrics and has a gentle affect upon the skin[, ]. The bulb can also be dried for later use, it can then be grated as required and used as soap flakes[].

The large bulbs are covered with a thick coat of coarse dark or brownish fibres, resembling the coir of the coconut. The fibres are light in weight, elastic, of good strength, and durable. They can be used as a stuffing to fill cushions, mattresses, etc., constitutiug, in places, quite an article of commerce[].
A fibre obtained from the outer covering of the bulb is used to make small brushes or as a filling for mattresses etc[, , , ].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or summer 2mm deep in a peat/sand mix. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 6 months at 15°c, but it can be slow and erratic. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings do not need to be thinned and grow them on in the pot for their first year of growth, giving an occasional liquid feed o ensure that they do not become mineral deficient. When dormant, pot up 3 young bulbs per pot and grow them on for at least another 2 years before planting them out into their permanent positions in the spring[].
Division of offsets when the bulb dies down in late summer. Larger offsets can be planted out direct into their permanent positions but it is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on for at least a year in the greenhouse.