Camas plants

[BosnMate]

I think this plant is only found in the Pacific Northwest West --- Oregon, Washington and Idaho --- and it was a staple in the diet of the Native people that lived in the area. The bulb is eatable, and were dug, crushed, then baked in an in the ground oven. Lewis and Clark reported that they were in starving condition when they entered Nez Perce country, and they were fed Camas by those people, which saved their lives. The flower is blue, however there is a white Camas flower that looks the same, and it has the name of "Death Camas." The reason the white plants are called that is because they are poison, and it is very possible you will die if you eat that bulb. When the bulbs are being dug, there are no flowers, so it's best if you have the location where you are going to dig planned out well ahead of time. These flowers were so common in pioneer days, that there are reports of valleys looking like lakes from the blue flowers. The settlers hogs ate the bulbs, which created friction between races, and that along with other farming factors has really reduced the number of these flowers from what they were in the past.

 

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[curious kat]

Very interesting plant & post BosnMate. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[creekhunter]

Very cool wish we had those around here!

 

[tamrock]

Time changes everything.

 

[ronwoodcraft]

There is a huge field of these about five miles east of Burns, OR. Looks like what you mentioned about looking like a blue lake. I used to see it when I was driving a truck, and wanted to take a picture, but it's a two lane road with no shoulder to pull over and stop.

 

[Enginefitter]

What a beautiful flower.
Thank you for the history lesson, I enjoy those posts the most.

Engine