Presley Day

May 25, 2016

Pollan Essay
Galax was first introduced to me while I was going on a hike through the
woods. Although the plant did not immediately draw my attention, once I took a
closer look at it I began to get curious about it. When I first saw the plant I thought
it was a leaf from I tree, but when I tried to pick it up it was rooted in the ground. I
wondered why a plant like this would be important and was shocked to hear it was
traded commercially. This small plant that lives on the forest floor has quite a story
to tell.
Galax is a low growing evergreen that never gets higher than about a foot off
the ground. It has glossy green leaves for almost the entire year, except during the
winter when the leaves turn to a glossy dark red. These leaves are in the shape of
rounded hearts and are serrated around the edge. The flower begins to bloom in
late spring. It is white in color and grows on top of a stem that can grow to be over
half a meter tall. Galax is only found in the Appalachian mountain range, normally in
forested regions at less than 4,500 feet. The plant prefers shaded, dry, and cool
regions in the forest and does not do well during hot and dry summers. It is quite
hardy and survives for two years before it dies in the third growing season. One of
the main predators of galax in the wild is deer, who enjoy munching on the plant for
sustenance.
Galax has a rich history of being collected and traded for its commercial
value. Dating back to the 18th century, it has been collected and used for a variety
of purposes. It has always been important to the region of Appalachia and the town
of Galax, Virginia is named after the plant. The town has not been a primary
harvester of the plant for many years and today features a diverse economy that

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May 25, 2016
has a booming tourism industry. Today, it is used primarily by the floral industry due
to its exceptional shelf life and attractiveness. The cultivation of galax is an
important contributor to the rural economy in North Carolina, it brought in around
$20 million in 2005. This is due to the fact that about 99% of it is collected from the
state. There are two different types of galax, diploid and tetraploid, which occurs
naturally throughout the Appalachians. The main trait that cultivators look for is the
tetraploid feature, which usually entails a larger leaf. The difference between these
two is the sets of chromosomes that appear in the nucleus, with the diploid having
two sets and the tetraploid having four sets.
The galax also has a history as a medicinal plant. The two main uses it has
are for healing wounds and cuts and to treat kidney problems. It is not widely used
by modern medical doctors, but is more of a traditional herbal remedy.
Concern has arisen over the over-cultivation of galax and the possibility of it
becoming too scarce to be collected in the coming years. A study by North Carolina
State University has stated that the current demand of galax exceeds the supply
and that there is increasing concern for the industry. Limiting poaching and
developing sustainable cultivation practices are the key to continuing the cultivation
of this plant into the future. Poachers go to public parks and forests and illegally
harvest galax from there. There are a variety of methods poachers use to remain
undetected by authorities, but they all involve the mass cultivation of the plant.
There have been suggestions to help limit this by painting the leaves of the plant
orange. This would destroy the economic value and would certainly help to deter
poachers, however this would be difficult to implement in practice because of the
large amount of land that would need to be covered. Researchers have also tried to
make the crop grown on a commercial level so that the need to harvest the plant

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May 25, 2016
from national forests would greatly decrease. Unfortunately this has been unable to
be done at a large scale, mainly due to the fact that galax takes up to four years to
be ready to harvest.
The future of galax cultivation is uncertain but it is still a substantial industry.
As long as due caution is exercised there will be a promising future for the galax
plant.

Bibliography:

"Domesticating Galax." Web. 25 May 2016.

<https://www.cals.ncsu.edu/specialty_crops/publications/reports/domesticatinggalax.html>.
"Galax Urceolata Beetleweed, Wandflower PFAF Plant Database." Web. 25 May 2016.
<http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Galax urceolata>.
"Taxon Page." Web. 25 May 2016. <http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1>.
"Galax Takes a Beating from Blackmarket Trade." 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 25 May 2016.
<http://www.smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/8894-galax-takes-a-beating-fromblackmarket-trade>.
"Galax Urceolata." Izel Plants. Web. 28 May 2016. <http://www.izelplants.com/galax-urceolatabeetleweed.html>.