Camas

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This looks delicious doesn't it? Camassia Quamash is found naturally in North America & Canada. This edible bulb was wild harvested by Native Americans such as the Nez Perce  who traded camas roots with the Cayuse, Walla Walla, Nespelem, Yakama, Crows, and Flatheads. It was also harvested and considered an important root crop  by Canadians such as the Cree & Salish. It was  a huge 18C trade item with the English and the Dutch for blankets and is noted in may journals including that of Lewis and Clark in 1805.

Camassia Quamash with its blue - purple flowers is resistant to many diseases, pests, and critters. The plant is easy to grow and does well in a variety of soil conditions as long as they have sufficient drainage. In full bloom, it grows 2 to 3 feet with a width of 6 to 9". The longer the plant is left to grow the bigger its tubor so I advise a second or third year harvest.  The bulbs were usually dug after flowering, in summer, although some peoples dug them in spring. **The cream or white flowers of Meadow Death Camas often grow in the same habitat as the edible blue Camas species. Meadow Death Camas is highly toxic so be very careful if you forage these bulbs. 

Camas was cooked in a covered pit or clay oven for up to 2 days and then the bulbs were peeled  (it's also called black Camas as the more heavily roasted bulbs turned black) The longer time it is cooked, the more its sugars are released.  Because of this, syrup was also made by boiling the roots and has been found added to flours and made as small travel biscuits. 

The growing of this amazing plant became very difficult during the late 1700 as cattle were introduced onto the same areas by English Settlers and they often ate or destroyed the harvest.