Galax, the wandplant, wandflower, or beetleweed, is a genus in the flowering plant family Diapensiaceae, containing a single species, Galax urceolata (syn. G. rotundifolia, G. aphylla). It is native to the southeastern United States from Massachusetts and New York south to northern Alabama, growing mainly in the Appalachian Mountains at altitudes of up to 1,500 m, where it grows in shaded places in forests. Galax urceolata can occur at multiple ploidy levels, an individual may be a diploid (2x), triploid (3x), or autotetraploid (4x) (autopolyploid). The cytotypes are neither morphologically nor geographically distinct, though there are slight climatic differences between the diploid and autotetraploid types. Outcrossing is likely to occur among cytotypes as well.
Description
It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plant growing to 30–45 cm (rarely 75 cm) tall, with a rosette of leathery leaves, which turn brown during winter. The leaves are a rounded cardioid (heart) shape, 2.5–7.5 cm diameter, rarely up to 15 cm, with a serrated margin with rounded "teeth". The flowers are produced in late spring to early summer, white in color and on a single spike-like raceme 15–25 cm long on top of a 20–50 cm tall stem. Each individual flower has five petals, and is up to in diameter. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds.
Taxonomy
The genus name Galax comes from the Greek word "gala" which means "milk", describing Galax<nowiki/>'s white flowers.
Around 1730, Galax was collected by John Clayton, due to his friendship with Mark Catesby, an English naturalist who had just arrived in Virginia. Based on Catesby's recommendation, Clayton ended up sending his specimens to Jan Frederik Gronovius, a Dutch botanist. In 1739, Gronovius published The Flora of Virginia, where "Anonymos or Belvedere" is the plant long known as Galax aphylla. Clayton provided Gronovius with four samples, all which were destroyed in a series of unfortunate events.