Meadow Death Camas (Zigadenus venenosus var. venenosus) and Rosy Plectritis (Plectritis congesta) are two wildflowers that often grow together on the open grassy slopes at Catherine Creek. Meadow Death Camas is a very pretty member of the lily family, but a very deadly one.
According to Plant-Life.org, some authorities consider the toxin found in Death Camas to be more toxic than strychnine. People sometimes confuse the bulbs of this plant with wild onions. One bulb can be fatal. All parts of the plant are toxic, and grazing livestock that browse the foliage are often killed.
Native Americans were very dependent on the true Camas (Camassia spp.) bulbs for starch in their diets. The flowers of the two plants are impossible to confuse, but the bulbs are similar and the two plants often grow together, so Native Americans work hard to weed Death Camas out the Camas beds where they harvested bulbs for food.
Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
Death Camas and Rosy Plectritis at Catherine Creek, Washington.
