PRAIRIE CAMAS
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| File Size: 44 KB |
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Camassia angusta (Engelm. & A. Gray) Blankinship
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| Neosho County, Kansas |
| Perennial |
| Height: 12-44 inches |
| Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus Family |
| Flowering Period: April, May, June |
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| Also Called: | | Wild hyacinth. | | Stems: | | Stemless; flowering stalk stout, from bulb; bulbs sometimes clustered, spherical, dark, scaly, .4 to 1.2 inch thick, about 3 inches below surface. | | Leaves: | | Basal, appearing whorled, 3-11, linear, grass-like, 8-24 inches long, 1/5 to 4/5 inch wide, lowest 1/3 of blade keeled. | | Inflorescences: | | Raceme, 10-34 inches, many flowered, terminal; bracts threadlike, about equaling flower stalks. | | Flowers: | | Symmetrical; perianth segments 6, pale blue to lavender, spreading, 1/4 to 2/5 inch long, 3- or 5-veined; stamens 6; anthers bright yellow; filaments threadlike, much longer than anthers; stigma distinctly 3-parted. | | Fruits: | | Capsule, ovoid-oblong, 1/4 to 2/5 inch long, pale green to light-brown; seeds 2-5 per compartment, black; fruiting stalks usually upcurving-erect. | | Habitat: | | Moist prairies and open woods. | | Distribution: | | East 1/3 of Kansas. | | Uses: | | Native Americans used the bulbs as a food source. They were eaten raw, baked, roasted, boiled in soups, or dried for later use. | | Comments: | | The leaves arise about 2 weeks before the flowers. Prairie camas is pollinated by butterflies, bees and flies. |
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| Prairie camas |  | | 42 KB | | Neosho County, Kansas |
| | Prairie camas |  | | 46 KB | | Neosho County, Kansas |
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