Camas

Camas is an iconic wildflower of the San Juan Islands. We see the flower on websites about the islands and we learn about its importance to the Salish people as a food source. As such, I wanted camas to be a cornerstone of my meadow and spent a lot of time contemplating the plant. We needed to get to know one another.

First off, I wanted to learn its formal name and family line. The Latin genus name is Camassia and it is in the asparagus family, formally referred to "Asparagaceae". There are two species found in the San Juan Islands, Camassia leichtillini, or great camas, and Camassia quamash, or common camas.

On Lopez Island, the camas found primarily are the great camas, or Camassia leichtillini. (see photo on the right.) Camas are bulbs which flower late in May in the San Juans. A stem may have 3-7 flowers. By mid July, the flowers have transformed to seed pods which can hold approximately 25 seeds each and are ready to harvest.

Camassia quamash are also found in the San Juans. Camasssia quamash and Camassia Leichtillini can be distingquished by thier petals . The bottom three petals of quamash form a "T", whereas the petals of Leichtillini are radially symmetrical, forming a star.

Camas produce fairly large, black, and teardrop shaped seeds. I have found they readilygerminate and have a 80-90% germination rate. With such a high germination rate, I generally sow only one seed per tube. The seeds require 0-90 days cold moist stratification. I found best results in sowing the seeds in early November and they will germinate in mid January and grow through May - June, then go dormant. At this time the bulbs will rest and then sprout the following February. I was advised it is best to keep the bulbs in pots for two years, harvest in October of the second year to outplant.

Here is a two year old bulb, sown in November 2020 and harvested in fall of 2022. Bulbs will be small. A typical one year bulb will be 50 mg dry weight.