Before the settlers and the plow came, camassias were in countless millions in all the moist meadows and valleys throughout the Far West.
Were it not for the plow and grazing, and all such spots would be a sea of white or cream or blue or purple in season, but, naturally, the settler would turn first to these rich and moist areas.
History Of Camassias
Camassias are edible, slightly more starchy, and have more sugar and a similar consistency and flavor to the potato. Consequently, they constituted a considerable part of the food supply of the Indians.
In Idaho, where semi-arid lands surround the meadows and valleys, camassias were, in fact, the only food supply of the Indians.
When the first white man saw the Indians eating the bulbs, and his plow unearthed countless numbers, he saw only fine food for his hogs.
The hogs quickly reduced the supply to near extinction. In retaliation, the half-starved Indians killed hogs and man alike, bringing the fierce Nezperce Indian War.
Notable Behaviors
My knowledge of the behavior of the camassia in eastern gardens comes from the thousands of successful reports received over 60 years.
As I have said, camassias are natives of moist meadows. The soils are usually heavy, yet some are rid of sandy loans.
Given ample moisture during the growing season, even to submersion, they will do well in any fair soil but excel in rich soil—the same soil you would prepare for tulips will suit them perfectly.
Many western bulbous plants are slender and will not stand the competition of grass, vigorous growing plants, or ground covers.
Still, the camassia is a sturdy individual which naturalizes easily among the grass and other plants and creepers in moist spots and meadows.
They are unrivaled for bold, striking groups in the bulb or perennial border.
Too, they like some Summer moisture, and they are hardy so that the bulbs may be left in the ground year after year.
They seed prolifically and self-seed to increase the colonies wherever the seed can find lodging.
Characteristics of Camassia Plants
In habit, camassia resembles the Eremums to which it is related.
There is a cascade of effective basal leaves, and the stout but slender stems rise to 12″ or even to 48″ inches according to species and conditions.
There is a long spike bearing from a few to as many as 300 flowers. The petals are slender and pointed to give a star-like flower ¾” to 1 ½” inches across, according to the species.
The bulbs vary in size from tiny, in one obscure species, to as large as 3″ inches in diameter.
The proper planting depth depends upon the soil. In heavy soils, the depth of covering over the tip of bulbs is 1 ½ times the bulb’s height. In light soils, it may be a little more.
Five Principal Camassia Species
There are five principal species. And they are:
Camassia Cusickii
Camassia cusicki has very large bulbs, often weighing 4 to 8 ounces, and these are marked with a strong unpleasant odor.
The leaves are 1 ½” inches broad and blue-green and may reach 20″ inches long.
Stout stems are 3′ to even 4′ feet tall and hear a spike from 30 to 300 one-inch flowers of delicate pale blue.
The habit is remote and restricted, and since the death of the discoverer, William Cusick, who collected the bulbs for many years, bulbs have rarely been obtainable during the past 20 years.
Camassia Leichtlinii
Camassia leichtlinii is the largest flowered and best of the genus, with stout stems to 3′ feet tall and a long, many-flowered spike of large flowers.
The fading petals twist about the capsule to give a bonbon effect which infallibly identifies the species. There are many forms.
The type is white or cream and, to me, the loveliest. Unfortunately, its habitat is the rich Umpqua Valley of Oregon, to which the settlers first turned.
In the early grain farming areas, the bulbs were unharmed and, at no cost of production, the farmer dug, or permitted to be dug, an ample supply for all gardens.
The change to permanent pastures and heavy grazing has nearly exterminated them, and now only rarely does some grower produce a few to put on the market.
A deep blue or purple form is equally good in the same region and north of British Columbia, but heavy grazing has made it rare.
In southern Oregon, there still remain goodly numbers.
Here the color varies from lavender-blue to aconite-blue, rarely two alike, yet the group effect is lavender-blue.
Bulbs are in fair supply, and it is here from which bulbs are available from dealers.
The southern limit of the species is in Mendocino County, California, where there are small but widely scattered colonies of the loveliest of all, a clear sky blue.
Camassia Howellii
Camassia howelli has small bulbs, few leaves, and stems less than 18″ inches. The flowers are deep blue.
Found only in small colonies in southern Oregon, I fear it has approached extermination too.
Collectors have failed for 10 years to find the few bulbs requested by institutions and botanists.
Camassia Esculenta
Camassia esculenta and varieties are found from Pennsylvania, west, and south to Texas.
With stems 12” to 20″ inches high, it has rather small, pale blue flowers.
Usually, bulbs offered under this name are of Camassia quamash, next described.
Camassia Quamash
Camassia quamash varies with the locality, but the flowers are pale blue in most of the Northwest, where it is everywhere.
In one locality in California, there is a form that equals the best of camassias. This is the form you would obtain from any bulb dealer under this name.
Leafy attractive basal mass and the stems are 20″ to 30″ tall, according to conditions, with a good spike of rather large clear, deep blue flowers.
To summarize, give camassia any good soil and ample moisture, and you will be delighted with the resulting bloom.
They are planted in the Fall, and I recommend planting rather late to avoid any danger of premature starting in a warm Autumn.
44659 by EC Purdy