Dictamnus albus var. purpureus (Gas Plant)

Unfamiliar to Me: Dictamnus albus

Posted on by Ann Mackay

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This is a plant I’d not seen before – Dictamnus albus (also known as dittany, burning bush, or gas plant). I photographed both the pink and white varieties in a garden I visited recently, then spent a few days trying to figure out what it was. It would have been a good idea to ask the owner of the garden, but she was busy trying to cope with the demand for her excellent coffee and cakes at the time.

Seeing new plants while visiting gardens is fascinating and often gives me ideas for things I’d like to grow. (The ‘want to grow’ list is too long for the garden to accommodate it – a common problem for gardeners!) It’s usually not too difficult to find out the names of plants by using the internet or books. But this one had me stumped for a while.

The flowers seemed like a larger version of gaura flowers, especially in the stamens having such long filaments, but the growth habit was entirely different. The stems of this plant were very upright and individual flowers were held on short stalks, unlike the long, floaty stems of the gaura.

I eventually found a photograph of the plant by doing a Google search for ‘star-shaped seed pod’. There were lots of photos of star anise to wade through before I found one of the Dictamnus. Identified at last!

My search also told me the reason for two of the plant’s common names. ‘Burning bush’ and ‘gas plant’ refer to the fact that the plant emits a volatile oil on sunny days. Apparently this can be set alight without causing any harm to the plant. But it might not be a good idea to try this if the plant is in a garden that you’re visiting!

Dictamnus albus (Gas Plant)
Dictamnus albus (Gas Plant)

Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

31 thoughts on “Unfamiliar to Me: Dictamnus albus”

  1. Rather than gaura, the white flowers bring to my mind one of our native azaleas: also white, with extraordinarily long filaments. I was fascinated by the thought of a flammable plant, but the Missouri Botanical Garden offered guidance in how to enjoy its odd characteristic: “In hot weather, old flowers or seed pods emit a flammable oil which, on a windless summer evening, can be ignited with a match resulting in a brief vapor burn which is harmless to the plant.” On the other hand, that same oil’s said to lead to skin irritation in some people. We have to take the bad with the good (or the odd), I suppose.

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    1. There were a lot of these flowers growing where they appeared to have self-seeded amongst the cracks in an old area of paving. I couldn’t help wondering what would have happened if someone lit a match there. Would a big cloud of vapour have ignited? Yikes!

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  2. I see why these flowers suggested gaura to you. When I looked up Dictamnus I was surprised to learn it’s in the citrus family. What didn’t surprise me was that Latin dictamnus evolved through Old French and passed into English to become dittany.

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  6. They are very attractive and no, I hadn’t heard of them either. A tip for you, use Google image search and it allows you to take a photo and searches for similar images, it’s worked well for me several times.

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  9. New one on me too, never heard of this before and never seen any. Such a distinctive plant. I hope they don’t spontaneously combust if you come across any more. That would be a worrying thought if you had one.

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  11. These are so pretty! I’m glad you figured out their identity. I love the satisfaction that comes when I finally find the answer to a question that has been on my mind for a while.
    I also loved the photos of your gauras covered in water droplets, even if I’m not quite ready to think of winter yet!

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