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Camassia quamash
Wander about the streams and prairies of the Willamette Valley during the spring or summer, and chances are you’ll spot the beautiful blooms of the common camas. The deep blue flowers form a conical-shaped tuft at the top of a long stalk. And while the flowers are beautiful, it’s the camas bulb which is really important to both animals and native people. Deer are particularly fond of camas and can sometimes be observed digging up the plant using their hooves.
Native Americans would use forked sticks to pry up the bulbs. Roasted in pit ovens, camas could be eaten hot, or dried and pounded into flour. It was one of the most extensively traded items among the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.
The bulb is often compared to a sweet potato in both taste and texture. Although not an important commercial crop today, the root is still an important part of the traditional diet of many Native Americans. One should use caution when foraging for the root, however, as not all varieties are edible. Zigadenus venenosus (more colorfully known as “death camas”) can be confused with edible camas. Remember, never eat any wild plant unless you’re absolutely certain it’s safe!
Distribution
Common camas can be found from the Pacific Coast of North America and as far east as Montana.
Conservation Status
Common. Camas is an important ecological species in the Pacific Northwest and is being widely reintroduced to as a native species to wetlands and prairies throughout British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.
Camassia quamash
Wander about the streams and prairies of the Willamette Valley during the spring or summer, and chances are you’ll spot the beautiful blooms of the common camas. The deep blue flowers form a conical-shaped tuft at the top of a long stalk. And while the flowers are beautiful, it’s the camas bulb which is really important to both animals and native people. Deer are particularly fond of camas and can sometimes be observed digging up the plant using their hooves.
Native Americans would use forked sticks to pry up the bulbs. Roasted in pit ovens, camas could be eaten hot, or dried and pounded into flour. It was one of the most extensively traded items among the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.
The bulb is often compared to a sweet potato in both taste and texture. Although not an important commercial crop today, the root is still an important part of the traditional diet of many Native Americans. One should use caution when foraging for the root, however, as not all varieties are edible. Zigadenus venenosus (more colorfully known as “death camas”) can be confused with edible camas. Remember, never eat any wild plant unless you’re absolutely certain it’s safe!
Distribution
Common camas can be found from the Pacific Coast of North America and as far east as Montana.
Conservation Status
Common. Camas is an important ecological species in the Pacific Northwest and is being widely reintroduced to as a native species to wetlands and prairies throughout British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.