Practical
Plants

Camassia scilloides

Atlantic Camas

a member of the Camassia genus in the family Hyacinthaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Height
0.6 m
Fertility
Bees
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Bulb - raw or cooked[6]. The bulb was an important food for several native North American Indian tribes who used it in a variety of ways[6]. It can be baked or dried and made into a powder which can be used as a thickener in stews or as an additive to cereal flours when making bread, cakes etc[62, K]. The bulb is about 4cm long and 15mm wide[5].

Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Western N. America. - Ontario to Wisconsin and southwards.
Habitat
Low fields, meadows and open woods[9].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 7+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay, heavy clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[2]. The seed can also be sown in a cold frame in spring[2]. It usually germinates in 1 - 6 months at 15°c, but it can be erratic[3]. Sow the seed thinly so that it does not need to be thinned and allow the seedlings to grow on undisturbed for their first year. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that the plants do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants are dormant in late summer, pot up the small bulbs putting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another one or two years in a cold frame before planting them out when dormant in late summer. Offsets in late summer. The bulb has to be scored in order to produce offsets.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in almost any soil[8]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a rather heavy loam[1] that has plenty of moisture in spring but does not remain wet over the winter[3][4]. Dislikes dry soils[4]. Tolerates partial shade[3][4]. Plant bulbs 7 - 10cm deep in early autumn and then leave them undisturbed.

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  3. Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3

  5. Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5

    ↩

  6. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2

  7. Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm

  8. Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938-00-00

    ↩

  9. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

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