November 28, 2005

Bolax gummifera

Just like yesterday’s plant, I can’t help myself when I see this plant. I have to touch it. The sensation, though, is quite different - imagine (but I don’t suggest you try it) pushing down with your hand on a swath of keys on your keyboard. That would be very similar to the feeling of pushing down on the foliage of the plastic-like Bolax gummifera. The common name for this cushion-forming oddity is “balsam bog”, but I know a few members of staff simply call it the plastic plant.

Bolax gummifera is a member of the carrot family, but similar to yesterday’s Erinacea anthyllis, a casual glance at the plant would not make it readily identifiable to its family. Within the broadly distributed Apiaceae (though typically north temperate), this plant belongs to a subfamily found only in the Southern Hemisphere, the Azorelloideae. Accordingly, Bolax gummifera is native to southern South America, including the Falkland Islands…

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