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Asparagaceae
Quamash
Camassia quamash
Sustenance and community gathering.
- Family
- Asparagaceae
- Genus
- Camassia
- Native to
- western North America
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- bulbous perennial
- Height
- 30–80 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, clay or loamy
- Water
- medium to high; tolerates seasonal flooding
- Hardiness
- 3–8
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Quamash bulbs were a critical food source for Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, often pit-roasted for days.
- Lewis and Clark documented relying on quamash bulbs for survival during their 1805 expedition.
- Vast quamash meadows once turned entire valleys blue in spring — early settlers described them as 'lakes of color'.
- The bulbs taste sweet like molasses when slow-cooked, as the inulin converts to fructose over long roasting.
- Wars were fought between Indigenous nations over control of prime quamash harvesting meadows.
Color meanings
Blue
nourishment and abundance
White
purity and peace