Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene

More info for the term: forb

small camas
blue camas
camas
camas lily
common camas
quamash
western camas


TAXONOMY:
The scientific name of small camas is Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene
(Liliaceae) [8,12,13,25]. Recognized subspecies are as follows [13,24]:

Camassia quamash subsp. azurea (A. Heller) Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. breviflora Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. intermedia Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. linearis (Pursh) Greene
Camassia quamash subsp. maxima Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. quamash
Camassia quamash subsp. utahensis (Pursh) Greene, Utah's small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. walpolei (Piper) Gould, Walpole's small camas


LIFE FORM:
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status

OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY





DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Camassia quamash
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Small camas is distributed from southern British Columbia and
southwestern Alberta east to Montana and south to California, Idaho,
Utah, and Wyoming [3,4]. An introduced population occurs near Haines,
Alaska [16].

Small camas is distributed from southern British Columbia and
southwestern Alberta east to Montana and south to California, Idaho,
Utah, and Wyoming [3,4]. An introduced population occurs near Haines,
Alaska [16].



Distribution of small camas. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, January 29] [24].

Because growth and flowering occur in spring and early summer,
short-interval fires in spring or early summer would probably reduce
small camas populations.

Northwest Coast Indians reportedly set fires annually. This optimized
small camas production by maintaining an open prairie [20,21].

More info for the terms: forest, grassland

In the Intermountain region and the northern Rocky Mountains, small
camas is usually found in mountain grassland and prairie communities.
West of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada crest, it occurs in both forest and
grassland types [10,13,22].

More info for the term: forb

Forb

Small camas decreases under sheep grazing [22].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: cover

Small camas flowers from May to July, depending upon elevation and snow
cover [4,9,12]. Leaves die and seeds are dispersed from late May to
August [22].

Geophyte, growing points deep in soil

The scientific name of small camas is Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene
(Liliaceae) [8,12,13,25]. Recognized subspecies are as follows [13,24]:

Camassia quamash subsp. azurea (A. Heller) Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. breviflora Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. intermedia Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. linearis (Pursh) Greene
Camassia quamash subsp. maxima Gould
Camassia quamash subsp. quamash
Camassia quamash subsp. utahensis (Pursh) Greene, Utah's small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. walpolei (Piper) Gould, Walpole's small camas