Edible Camas Bulbs

It is easiest to tell the plants apart when they are in flower.

Edible camas bulbs.

Full sun to partial shade hardiness. Edible camas bulbs and is toxic. 5 large camassia bulbs botanical name. Edible uses the sweet bulbs of the great camas are considered by many to be a northwest native food delicacy.

Camassia lily another edible hyacinth cousin is the blue camas camassia quamash also known as camassia lily. Check on them after 8 hours or so. However the plant can still be found in common gardens throughout our country. It and its eastern cousin the wild hyacinth have been eaten by native american groups from british columbia to georgia for millennia.

Skip to the end of the images gallery. The longer they re cooked the sweeter they get. Camassia leichtlinii semi plena. Camassia quamash bulbs are an excellent choice for moist loam and clay soils.

Common camas wild. But few people eat these bulbs anymore. Sadly wild and well enjoyed camassia bulbs are not seen in masses like they once were. And it is not only because the knowledge of them has been lost.

Common camas edible uses. Camassia leichtlinii semiplena exposure. Pour in just enough water to cover the bottom of the container by about 1 4 inch or so. The problem however is that harvesting the bulbs kills the plant and overharvesting may put the blue camas in jeopardy.

It is a perennial herb that grows from an edible bulb. It should be noted that while the bulbs of this camas plant are edible it is often confused with a similar toxic plant referred to as death camas zigadenus venenosus. What you are looking at above is a bowl of the bulbs from camassia quamash or blue camas. Remove the papery sheath off the bulbs and put them in an ovenproof container with a lid.

Cover the container and bake the camas bulbs at 220 230 degrees for 12 hours. In fact native american tribes of the american west relied on the bulbs for sustenance. The leaves are long. Be sure of your identification of camas bulbs before eating them.

Common camas is not quite as large and showy as great camas but is still widely propagated in the. Common camas is a stout robust plant 12 28 inches 30 70 cm tall with a dense inflorescence. While camassia species are edible and nutritious the white flowered deathcamas species which are not in the genus camassia but in a number of genera in the tribe melanthieae that grow in the same areas are toxic and the bulbs are quite similar in appearance. The sweet bulbs of the common camas are considered by many to be a northwest native food delicacy.