Robin and I spotted a few of these at the end of a hike last night, so I went back after sundown to try and get some pictures. Chlorogalum pomeridianum-soaproot or amole, is a bulb about the size of an onion, with a few long wavy leaves growing in a clump. The leaves on these two plants were withered and gone. It only blooms in the spring following a fire, and then won't bloom again until the next fire. Even though the flowers are easily visible 50 meters away, I've never noticed one before-possibly because it's a night blooming flower that opens at dusk and is closed by morning, although one source I read said that each night's blooms actually fall off by morning. If anyone knows, leave a comment, please...
It's called soaproot because the bulb contains saponin, which gets foamy when mixed with water. It's been used as a dandruff treatment, which makes me happy that I've shaved my head and freed myself from the tyranny of shampoo. Saponin is toxic, but if you cook or roast the bulb it's safe. It is supposed to taste like an onion, but made of wood. Mmmmm.
The other odd bit of info I found about it was that among the food given to the Donner party by the Native Americans they met was roasted soapwood.
There are very few of these visible in the park-I've only seen these two plants, one near the Visitor's Center, and two on a hill near some of the plants I'm monitoring for CPP. The stalks were about 4 feet tall, and the flowers about 2 inches.
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