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Camassia leichtlinii
Also called Leichtlin's Camas, Great Camas
Large camas is a North American bulbous perennial with tall spikes of blue-violet star-shaped flowers in late spring. It grows best in moist spring soil that dries out in summer, and its bulbs were a traditional food once thoroughly cooked.
Camassia leichtlinii, the great camas or large camas, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. This herbaceous perennial is native to western North America in British Columbia, Canada and California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, in the United States.
It needs consistent moisture in the spring, but will not be harmed by seasonal drought once the seed capsules have matured and the leaves dried out. Camas stands can benefit from seasonal fires as well, as they aid in regeneration and reduce competition from brush and weeds.
The bulbs are edible, but must be baked at length. Traditionally, they were cooked in fire pits for at least three hours, and ideally for between one and three days. Caution should be taken not to confuse this species with the deadly meadow death-camas.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Camassia leichtlinii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
