Plant Data Sheet
Species
Common camas, Camassia
quamash, (Pursh) Greene
Photo
Credit: William & Wilma Follette. USDA NRCS. 1992. PLANTS database.
Camas grows occurs on
sites that are moist to wet in winter and early spring, but very dry by late
spring and summer. Occurs
from sea level to 7,000 ft (2,134 m). (FEIS database)
Local occurrence
Occurs east and west
of the Cascades in montane wet meadows, Puget lowland
and
In the Intermountain
region, common camas is usually found in mountain grassland and prairie
communities; west of the Cascade crest, it occurs in both forest and grassland
types (FEIS database).
Plant strategy type/successional
stage
Seral species; shade intolerant. Occupies
openings in forested communities and early to late seral
grassland communities. (FEIS database)
Pseudotsuga menziesii,
Pinus ponderosa, Fraxinus latifolia, Alnus rubrum, Festuca idahoensis var. roemeriana, Ranunculus occidentalis, Danthonia californica, Symphoricarpos albus, Erythronium oregonum, Achillea millefolium, Saxifraga integrifolia, S. oregana Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Armeria maritima, Viola adunca, Zigadenus venenosus and Balsamorhiza deltoidea, Dodecatheon hendersonii, D. jeffreyi, Senecio subnudus, Montia linearis, and many others. (FEIS database; Franklin and Dyrness 1973)
May be collected as:
Seed, bulbs (salvaged), divisions of offsets from bulbs. (FEIS database)
Seeds ripen and are
dispersed from late May to July. (FEIS database)
If salvaging bulbs,
there is a brief period to harvest bulbs when soils are moist after flowering
in the spring; the next time to harvest is in fall after the rains begin.
(Anonymous 2000)
Seed germination
Camas seed requires
42 to 100 d of cold, moist stratification (1 to 4 °C [34 to 40 °F]) for maximum
germination (90 to 100%). (Anonymous 2000)
Stratification can also take place through the winter outdoors or in a
cold frame after sowing seed in containers in the late fall. (Wick
and Evans 2001).
Seed life (can be stored, short shelf-life, long shelf-life)
Seed longevity is unknown, however, one seed trial found that germination
rates were the same for fresh seed and seed stored in cool, dry conditions for
6 months. (Wick and Evans 2001)
Dry seeds can be
stored prior to planting in cool, low humidity environment or frozen.
(Anonymous 2000)
Propagation recommendations (plant seeds, vegetative parts, cuttings, etc.)
Seeds,
container grown seedlings, transplanting salvaged or commercially grown bulbs,
bulb offsets.
Soil or medium requirements (inoculum necessary?)
For container grown
plants a soilless mix of peat, perlite
and vermiculite with controlled release fertilizer was used in one seed trial.
(Wick and Evans 2001)
Installation form (form, potential for successful outcomes, cost)
Direct seeding onto
lightly scarified soils in the fall is successful; however, seeds buried deeper
than 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) will not germinate successfully. Another possibility is installation of
container grown seedlings in the fall or early spring. (Anonymous 2000)
210 live seed per
square meter (20/sq. ft.) was used with fair to moderate success in an
Suggested spacing for
bulbs in naturalized landscapes vary from 7.5 to 20 cm
(3 to 8 in) apart. Others recommend 6 to
8 bulbs every 30 cm (12 in) for outdoor gardens. A dense “natural” stand may have 100 plants
per m2 (9/ft2) or more. (Anonymous 2001)
Care requirements after installed (water weekly, water once etc.)
Soil should be kept
consistently moist throughout the spring until the seed pods dry out or the
leaves senesce at least during the first growing season. Protection from deer browsing may improve
survival of new plantings. (Anonymous 2000)
Plants generally
mature and flower by age 2-3 years and individual plants live for 15-20 years.
(Anonymous 2000)
One seed trial found
that container plants grown from seed were ready for planting after 2 years.
(Wick and Evans 2001)
Anonymous. 2000. Propagation protocol for production of Camassia quamash plants;
Anonymous. 2001. Propagation protocol for vegetative production of
field-grown Camassia quamash
plants;
FEIS database:
Accessed on
Franklin, J.
F. and C. T. Dyrness. 1973. Natural Vegetation of
Hitchcock, C.
L. and A. Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the
Wick, Dale; Evans,
Jeff. 2001. Propagation
protocol for production of container Camassia quamash
(Pursh) Greene ssp. quamash plants (164 ml (10
in3) Leach Cone-tainers);
Anne G. Andreu