| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Perennial to trees, from membranous bulb, fibrous corm, scaly rhizome, or erect caudex
Stem generally underground
Leaves generally basal, often withering early, alternate, generally ± linear
Inflorescence various, generally bracted
Flower generally bisexual, generally radial; perianth often showy, segments generally 6 in two petal-like whorls (outer sometimes sepal-like), free or fused at base; stamens 6 (or 3 + generally 3 ± petal-like staminodes), filaments sometimes attached to perianth or fused into a tube or crown; ovary superior or inferior, chambers 3, placentas generally axile, style generally 1, stigmas generally 3
Fruit: generally capsule, loculicidal or septicidal (berry or nut)
Genera in family: ± 300 genera, 4600 species: especially ± dry temp and subtropical; many cultivated for ornamental or food;some TOXIC . Here includes genera sometimes treated in Agavaceae, Amaryllidaceae, and other families.
Perennial; bulbs solitary or clustered
Leaves basal, 15–60 cm, linear-lanceolate, glabrous
Inflorescence: raceme, scapose, 2–13 dm; flowers 3–many; bracts 1–6 cm, lanceolate, becoming scarious; pedicels 1–5 cm, spreading or incurved in fruit
Flower ± radial; perianth parts 6, petal-like, 15–40 mm, lanceolate, purplish blue to white, 3–9-veined, sometimes twisting over fruit; ovary superior, chambers 3, style 1, stigma lobes 3
Fruit: capsule, ± spheric to oblong, cross-ridged, loculidical
Seeds 3–many, ± shiny black
Species in genus: ± 4 species: North America
Etymology: (Native American name: camas or quamash)
Reference: [Gould 1942 Amer Midl Naturalist 28:712–742]
Spp. differentiated mostly by geog.
| Native |
Bulb generally solitary
Flower: perianth generally (purplish) blue (white)
Fruit ovate to oblong
Ecology: Damp forests, meadows, streamsides
Elevation: < 3300 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada, n San Francisco Bay Area, Modoc Plateau
Distribution outside California: to sw Canada, Wyoming, Utah
Highly variable among populations and with habitat. Probably only 2 forms warrant recognition; needs study. Bulbs were used widely for food and traded among native tribes, perhaps blurring distinctions or creating local forms.