Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Atlantic camas

(Camassia scilloides)

galery
en

Description

Camassia scilloides is a perennial herb known commonly as Atlantic camas, wild hyacinth, and eastern camas. It is native to the eastern half of North America, including Ontario and the eastern United States. The species produces inflorescences up to half a meter tall from a bulb 1–3 centimetres (0.39–1.18 in) wide. It has a few leaves each up some 20–60 cm (7.9–23.6 in) long. The flowers have light blue or whitish tepals and yellow anthers. The green or brown capsule is up to a centimeter long and divided into three parts. Native American groups used the bulbs for food, eating them raw, baked, roasted, boiled, or dried. They can be used in place of potatoes, but could possibly be confused for poisonous deathcamas. The superseded name Camassia esculenta (Ker Gawl.) B.L.Rob. (nom. illeg.) should not be confused with Camassia esculenta (Nutt.) Lindl., a superseded name for Camassia quamash subsp. quamash. Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to North America. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. It grows in the wild in great numbers in moist meadows. They are perennial plants with basal linear leaves measuring 20 to 80 centimetres (8 to 32 in) in length, which emerge early in the spring. They grow to a height of 30 to 130 cm (12 to 50 in), with a multi-flowered stem rising above the main plant in summer. The six-petaled flowers vary in color from pale lilac or white to deep purple or blue-violet. Camas can appear to color entire meadows when in flower.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order:Asparagales
Family:Asparagaceae
Genus:Camassia
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