In the wild, Camassia leichtlinii, commonly known as great camas, is found in damp mountain meadows and grasslands. Visit the Buck Lake Native Plant Garden in early spring and look for the purple, pale blue and cream-colored flowers in our own camas meadow near the south entrance. We feature two different varieties and one cultivar of great camas. Camassia leichtlinii caerulea (purple) and alba (cream-colored) are 24"-30" tall; C. leichtlinii 'Blue Heaven,' (pale blue) is somewhat smaller. Another familiar Northwest camas species, Camassia quamash, common camas, is almost indistinguishable from great camas in appearance and grows in the same habitat. Currently, they are not planted in the Buck Lake Native Plant Garden.
Camas prefers a sunny location, plenty of winter moisture and little to no moisture in the summer, when it goes dormant. It puts on its beautiful bloom display in April and May in the BLNPG. Camassia leichtlinii caerulea and C. leichtlinii 'Blue Heaven' begin the show in April, followed by C. leichtlinii alba in May. (Due to our cool spring, bloom times may be slightly later this year.) Planted initially as bulbs, when the camas flowers are allowed to die back naturally and set seeds, they will naturalize freely. Camas flowers provide nectar for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.
Camas bulbs were an important staple food for the indigenous population of the Western U.S. Bulbs were harvested in the autumn, after the plants died back, and were baked or pounded into flour. They were such an important food source that fields of camas were cultivated and, in some tribes, were owned and inherited.