Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
Introductory
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Howard, Janet L. 1993. Zigadenus paniculatus. 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/zigpan/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
ZIGPAN
SYNONYMS :
Zygadenus paniculatus (Nutt.) Wats.
SCS PLANT CODE :
ZIPA2
COMMON NAMES :
foothill deathcamas
sandcorn
panicled deathcamas
deathcamas
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of foothill deathcamas is
Zigadenus paniculatus (Nutt.) Wats. (Liliaceae). There are no
subspecies, varieties, or forms [5,6,7,8,21].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Foothill deathcamas is distributed from Washington east to Montana and
south to California, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico [7,8].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
STATES :
AZ CA CO ID NV MT NM OR UT WA
WY
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
210 Interior Douglas-fir
218 Lodgepole pine
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
237 Interior ponderosa pine
238 Western juniper
239 Pinyon - juniper
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
247 Jeffrey pine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
All parts of foothill deathcamas are poisonous to livestock and wildlife
at all times of the year [13,18,19].
PALATABILITY :
Foothill deathcamas is unpalatable to all classes of livestock [13,19].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Rangeland: Foothill deathcamas is one of the first plants to produce
growth in spring. Livestock poisonings usually occur when animals are
put on the range in early spring before more palatable plant species are
available [13,19]. Sheep are most commonly poisoned: 336 grams of
foothill deathcamas (dry weight) was lethal to experimentally fed ewes
(weight of the ewes averaged 51 kilograms) [12]. Foothill deathcamas is
an increaser under heavy grazing; an abundance of foothill deathcamas
indicates a need for rangeland improvement practices [13].
Control: Foothill deathcamas can be controlled by 2 successive years of
spraying with 2,4-D before flowering, when plants are in the three-leaf
stage [13,24,25].
Other: Humans are occasionally poisoned after consuming foothill
deathcamas bulbs. The bulbs are sometimes mistaken for edible bulbs of
wild onion (Allium spp.), hyacinth (Brodiaea spp.), or camas (Camassia
spp.) [13,19].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Foothill deathcamas is a native, cool-season, perennial forb. Its
peduncle is from 8 to 21 inches (20-60 cm) long; acaulescent leaves are
from 12 to 20 inches (30-50 cm) long [6,11,13]. The roots are fibrous,
growing from the base of a "deep-set" underground bulb [13,19]. The
inflorescence is a raceme of polygamous flowers. The fruit is a capsule
[7,11,13].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Foothill deathcamas reproduces from seed, with pollination effected by
syrphid flies and solitary bees [16]. It reproduces vegetatively by
bulb offsets [9].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Foothill deathcamas grows in dry, loamy to gravelly soils. It is found
at 4,000 to 7,500 feet (1,300-2,600 m) in elevation throughout its range
[11,13].
Species named as foothill deathcamas associates in the big sagebrush
(Artemisia tridentata) plant community include cheatgrass (Bromus
tectorum), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda), and low larkspur
(Delphinium bicolor) [13]. Associates in the true pinyon-Utah juniper
(Pinus edulis-Juniperus osteosperma) community include Utah serviceberry
(Amelanchier utahensis), banana yucca (Yucca baccata), rubber
rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Fendler bluegrass (Poa
fendleriana), bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), and hairy
telegraphplant (Heterotheca villosa) [2].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Foothill deathcamas begins growth in early spring and flowers from May
to June [11,13].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Information on the fire adaptations of foothill deathcamas is lacking in
the literature. It probably survives most fires because its bulb and
growing points are located below ground.
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: Zigadenus paniculatus
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Late spring, summer, or fall fire probably top-kills foothill
deathcamas. Early spring fire that completely consumes aboveground
portions of the plant may kill foothill deathcamas [17].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Foothill deathcamas recovery following fire has not been documented in
the literature. Late spring, summer, or fall fire probably does no
lasting damage to deathcamas. It has been listed as one the of the
plant species that is undamaged by fire in the big sagebrush plant
community [23]. Early spring fire, however, is probably harmful to this
cool-season plant. It has been experimentally demonstrated that
foothill deathcamas cannot produce a new set of leaves following
defoliation, which could occur during early spring fire. Springtime
fire may kill some plants. Tepedino [17] stated that following
defoliation in early spring, foothill deathcamas may perish because
photosynthate reserves are insufficient to support growth the following
spring. Flowering is also affected by defoliation. In Cache County,
Utah, 60 percent of plants defoliated prior to the flowering period
produced no flowers, as opposed to only 17 percent of control plants.
Defoliated plants that did bloom produced fewer flowers per raceme than
did intact plants. Tepedino has hypothesized that flowering may be
delayed for 1 to several years after defoliation.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Zigadenus paniculatus
REFERENCES :
1. 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]
2. Erdman, James A. 1970. Pinyon-juniper succession after natural fires on
residual soils of Mesa Verde, Colorado. Brigham Young University Science
Bulletin. Biological Series. 11(2): 1-26. [11987]
3. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
4. 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]
5. Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p. [6851]
6. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
7. 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]
8. Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H.; Howell, John Thomas; McClintock,
Elizabeth. 1960. Arizona flora. 2d ed. Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press. 1085 p. [6563]
9. Kruckeberg, A. R. 1982. Gardening with native plants of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 252 p. [9980]
10. 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]
11. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
12. Panter, K. E.; Ralphs, M. H.; Smart, R. A.; Duelke, B. 1987. Death camas
poisoning in sheep: a case report. Veterinary and Human Toxicology.
29(1): 45-48. [4906]
13. Parker, Karl G. 1975. Some important Utah range plants. Extension
Service Bulletin EC-383. Logan, UT: Utah State University. 174 p.
[9878]
14. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
15. 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. 7 p. [20090]
16. Tepedino, V. J. 1981. Notes on the reproductive biology of Zigadenus
paniculatus, a toxic range plant. Great Basin Naturalist. 41(4):
427-430. [2311]
17. Tepedino, V.J. 1982. Effects of defoliation on reproduction of a toxic
range plant, Zigadenus paniculatus. Great Basin Naturalist. 42(4):
524-528. [2312]
18. Benedict, W. V.; Harris, T. H. 1931. Experimental Ribes eradication
Stanislaus National Forest. Journal of Forestry. 29(5): 709-720. [427]
19. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1937. Range plant
handbook. Washington, DC. 532 p. [2387]
20. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
21. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry
C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
22. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States
and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620]
23. Pechanec, Joseph F.; Stewart, George; Blaisdell, James P. 1954.
Sagebrush burning good and bad. Farmers' Bulletin No. 1948. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 34 p. [1859]
24. Blaisdell, James P.; Mueggler, Walter F. 1956. Effect of 2,4-D on forbs
and shrubs associated with big sagebrush. Journal of Range Management.
9: 38-40. [465]
25. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State
Office. 1985. Final Northwest Area noxious weed control program
environmental impact statement. Portland, OR. 295 p. [12796]
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