white dittany
Dictamnus albus
On hot, windless summer days, the heavy, lemon-scented essential oils hovering around the plant can actually be ignited with a match, producing a brief flash of blue flame without harming the plant itself.
- Scientific name
- Dictamnus albus
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Sapindales › Rutaceae › Dictamnus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Dry open forests, woodland margins, and stony scrublands, typically on nutrient-poor, calcareous or limestone soils.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis, absorbing water and mineral nutrients from the soil).
- Range
- Southern Europe, Central Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Siberia
- Size
- 60 to 100 cm in height, forming bushy clumps up to 60 cm wide.
- Lifespan
- Perennial, known to live for 30 to 50 years in optimal conditions.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, loss of open woodland ecosystems due to canopy closure, and wild collection for ornamental use.
- Safe to approach?
- Defensive. Do not touch this plant, especially on sunny days. Its leaves and stems are coated in furanocoumarins, which cause severe blistering phytophotodermatitis when exposed to sunlight. Maintain a safe distance of at least 1 meter. If contact occurs, immediately wash the skin thoroughly with soap and cold water, and strictly shield the affected area from sunlight for at least 48 hours.
Dictamnus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, with a single species, Dictamnus albus , which has several geographical variants. It is also known as burning bush , dittany , gas plant , and fraxinella . It is a herbaceous perennial, native to warm, open woodland habitats in southern Europe, north Africa and much of Asia.
Photo: Jörg Hempel, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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