Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
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| Small camas. Image by William & Wilma Follette, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database/USDA NRCS. 1992. Western wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. West Region, Sacramento. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Howard, Janet L. 1993. Camassia quamash. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/camqua/all.html [].
Revisions:
On 17 April 2018, the common name of this species was changed in FEIS
from: common camas
to: small camas. Images were also added.
ABBREVIATION:
CAMQUA
SYNONYMS:
Camassia esculenta Lindl.
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene subsp. teapeae (H. St. John) H. St. John
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. azurea (A. Heller) C.L. Hitchc.
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. breviflora (Gould) C.L. Hitchc.
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. intermedia (Gould) C.L. Hitchc.
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. linearis (Gould) J.T. Howell
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. maxima (Gould) B. Boivin
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. quamash
Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene var. utahensis (Gould) C.L. Hitchc.
Quamassia quamash (Pursh) Coville
NRCS PLANT CODE:
CAQU2
COMMON NAMES:
small camas
blue camas
camas
camas lily
common camas
quamash
western camas
TAXONOMY:
The scientific name of small camas is Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene
(Liliaceae) [8,12,13,25]. Recognized subspecies are as follows [13,24]:
Camassia quamash subsp. azurea (A. Heller) Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. breviflora Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. intermedia Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. linearis (Pursh) Greene
Camassia quamash subsp. maxima Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. quamash
Camassia quamash subsp. utahensis (Pursh) Greene, Utah's small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. walpolei (Piper) Gould, Walpole's small camas
LIFE FORM:
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status
OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Small camas is distributed from southern British Columbia and
southwestern Alberta east to Montana and south to California, Idaho,
Utah, and Wyoming [3,4]. An introduced population occurs near Haines,
Alaska [16].
 |
| Distribution of small camas. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, January 29] [24]. |
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
STATES:
AK CA ID MT OR UT WA WY AB BC
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir - hemlock forest
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K007 Red fir forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K009 Pine - cypress forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K026 Oregon oakwoods
K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
K048 California steppe
K049 Tule marshes
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K063 Foothills prairie
SAF COVER TYPES:
205 Mountain hemlock
211 White fir
213 Grand fir
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
231 Port-Orford-cedar
232 Redwood
233 Oregon white oak
234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
246 California black oak
247 Jeffrey pine
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak - gray pine
255 California coast live oak
256 California mixed subalpine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES:
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
In the Intermountain region and the northern Rocky Mountains, small
camas is usually found in mountain grassland and prairie communities.
West of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada crest, it occurs in both forest and
grassland types [10,13,22].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
Livestock, elk, moose, and caribou graze small camas [23]. Pigs
consume the bulbs [6].
PALATABILITY:
Small camas provides fair to good graze for sheep and cattle [23].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:
Small camas forage is poor in energy and protein value [26]. The
nutrient composition of fresh bulbs (per gram dry weight) is as follows
[14]:
calories 3.90 calcium (mg) 1.76
protein (g) 0.13 iron (mg) 0.23
carbohydrate (g) 0.80 magnesium (mg) 0.40
lipid (g) 0.03 zinc (mg) 0.03
COVER VALUE:
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
Small camas was planted for mountain grassland restoration in western
Washington, using bulbs salvaged from a nearby area undergoing
subdivision [1]. Plants can also be established by fall planting of
seed [20].
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
Small camas bulbs were eaten by western Indians, trappers, and early
settlers [3,6,22,23]. Many western Indian tribes also used the bulbs as
a trade item [22].
Small camas is planted as an ornamental [3].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Small camas decreases under sheep grazing [22].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Small camas is a native perennial forb. Its peduncle is from 8 to 20
inches (20-50 cm) in height and supports a terminal raceme. The
peduncle and basal leaves attach to a bulb that is up to 1.5 inches (6
cm) across. Its roots are fibrous. The fruit is a three-celled capsule
with 5 to 10 seeds per cell [12,13,23].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM:
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES:
Small camas reproduces from seed and bulb offsets [18,22]. Clones
flower at age 2 or 3 years [18].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Small camas grows on sites that are moist to wet in spring but dry by
late spring or summer [4,6,8,12,25]. It is commonly found near vernal
pools, springs, and intermittent streams [10]. It occurs at elevations
ranging from sea level to 7,000 feet (2,134 m) in California [13] and
from 6,240 to 7,950 feet (1,890-2,410 m) in Utah [25].
Associated species in the Intermountain region are snowberry
(Symphoricarpos albus), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata),
Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Douglas grass-widow (Sisyrinchium
douglasii), Hooker balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri), rush pussytoes
(Antennaria luzuloides), Wyeth buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides), and
western yarrow (Achillea millefolium) [17].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:
Small camas is shade intolerant [10]. In forested areas, it is found
on open sites created by disturbance. In grasslands and meadows, it is
most prevalent in initial and early seral communities but also occurs in
later seres [1,10,22].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Small camas flowers from May to July, depending upon elevation and snow
cover [4,9,12]. Leaves die and seeds are dispersed from late May to
August [22].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:
Soil insulates the meristematic tissue in small camas bulbs from damage
by fire [22].
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
Geophyte, growing points deep in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
Fire presumably top-kills small camas.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT:
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
Small camas on the Palouse prairie of eastern Washington increases
with frequent fire [1]. Data regarding small camas postfire recovery
are lacking.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE:
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Because growth and flowering occur in spring and early summer,
short-interval fires in spring or early summer would probably reduce
small camas populations.
Northwest Coast Indians reportedly set fires annually. This optimized
small camas production by maintaining an open prairie [20,21].
References: Camassia quamash
1. Antieau, Clayton J.; Gaynor, Peggy E. 1990. Native grassland restoration and creation in western Washington. Restoration & Management Notes. 8(1): 34-35. [14166]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]
3. Dayton, William A. 1960. Notes on western range forbs: Equisetaceae through Fumariaceae. Agric. Handb. 161. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 254 p. [767]
4. Delane, Teresa M.; Sharp, William H. 1976. The blue camas, Camassia quamash, a plant new to Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 90(1): 79-80. [23843]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Gabriel, Herman W., III. 1976. Wilderness ecology: the Danaher Creek Drainage, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana. 224 p. Dissertation. [12534]
7. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
8. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 914 p. [1169]
9. Idaho State Department of Commerce and Development. [n.d.]. Idaho wild flowers. Boise, ID: Idaho State Department of Commerce and Development. Pamphlet. 10 p. [17999]
10. Klinka, K.; Krajina, V. J.; Ceska, A.; Scagel, A. M. 1989. Indicator plants of coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press. 288 p. [10703]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Lackschewitz, Klaus. 1991. Vascular plants of west-central Montana--identification guidebook. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-227. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 648 p. [13798]
13. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
14. Norton, H. H.; Hunn, E. S.; Martinsen, C. S.; Keely, P. B. 1984. Vegetable food products of the foraging economies of the Pacific Northwest. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 14(3): 219-228. [10327]
15. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
16. Scoggan, H. J. 1978. The flora of Canada. Ottawa, Canada: National Museums of Canada. (4 volumes) [18143]
17. Skovlin, Jon M.; Edgerton, Paul J.; McConnell, Burt R. 1983. Elk use of winter range as affected by cattle grazing, fertilizing, and burning in southeastern Washington. Journal of Range Management. 36(2): 184-189. [2154]
18. Sperka, Marie. 1973. Growing wildflowers: A gardener's guide. New York: Harper & Row. 277 p. [10578]
19. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]
20. Turner, Nancy Chapman; Bell, Marcus A. M. 1971. The ethnobotany of the Coast Salish Indians of Vancouver Island. Economic Botany. 25: 63-104. [21014]
21. Turner, Nancy Chapman; Bell, Marcus A. M. 1973. The ethnobotany of the southern Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia. Economic Botany. 27: 257-310. [21015]
22. Turner, Nancy J.; Kuhnlein, Harriet V. 1983. Camas (Camassia spp.) and riceroot (Fritillaria spp.): two liliaceous "root' foods of the Northwest Coast Indians. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 13: 199-219. [20526]
23. USDA Forest Service. 1937. Range plant handbook. Washington, DC. 532 p. [2387]
24. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2018. PLANTS Database, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (Producer). Available: https://plants.usda.gov/. [34262]
25. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
26. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
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