The Large Camas (
Camassia leichtlinii) is a perennial herb in the Lily family. Large Camas has simple, not compound, leaves and produces a blue 6 petal flower. They prefer lots of sun and moist growing conditions. The basal leaves are anywhere from 8 to 32 inches long. The plant grows to a height of two to three feet in height and sends up a stem the main plant that produces the flowers. Often Camas can appear to cover an entire meadows when in flower in the summer.
The bulbs produced by the Large Camas are edible and were an important food source for native Americans. The bulbs are harvested in the fall. The bulbs can be pit roasted or boiled. The bulbs can also be pounded into flour.
Large camas plants are a great food source but beware of Death Camas which grow in the same areas, but are toxic! The bulbs of each plant are similar but the flowers are an easy way to tell the plants apart. Death Camas has numerous smaller white flowers which look nothing like the flowers of the Large Camas plant.
