Great Camas
Camassia leichtlinii
The taller, statelier camas, with elegant spires of blue-violet or creamy stars in late spring. Superb in moist meadows and a magnet for early bees. Its bulb was a genuine dietary staple, slow-baked into a sweet, potato-like food — but camas bulbs closely resemble the deadly, unrelated 'death camas' (Toxicoscordion) before flowering, a well-documented and sometimes fatal mix-up. Never dig camas bulbs without the plant in bloom to confirm identity.
- Family
- Asparagaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–4 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- blue
- Wildlife value
- pollinators
- Landscape uses
- border, rain garden
- Native states
- CA, NV, OR, WA