Bolax gummifera
Bolax gummifera
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Bolax gummifera is native to the southern tip of S. America and the Falkland Islands, where the climate is cool to cold temperate and the plant experiences snow and frosts with temperatures falling below -10°c. Requires a position in full sun in a well-drained gritty humus-rich soil[1, 2]. Plants rarely flower in cultivation[1]. A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are 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[1] Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Bolax+gummifera>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
- [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
- [3]Flora of Tierra del Fuego. — Moore. D. M. · 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.
- [4]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
- [5]Bolax gummifera: Toxicity against Artemia sp. of Bornyl and iso-Bornyl Esters — Mongelli E., et al · 2003 · http://www.idecefyn.com.ar · ISBN 1666-888X ↩︎A report on the use of the plant in treating cancer cells