Index / Search / Camassia quamash

§1 Plant — species · Liliaceae

Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene

vernacular small camas


USDA
CAQU2
GBIF
2769084
Rank
species
small camas (Camassia quamash)
Platephotograph · Janel JohnsonCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Monocot
Family
Liliaceae Juss.
Genus
Camassia
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
None
Shade
Low
Moisture use
High
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Medium
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-28 °F minimum
Frost-free days
110 min.
Precipitation
16–55 in/yr
pH range
5.7–7
Root depth
10 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
2.3 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Blue
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Low
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Spring
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
117,014
Propagation
seed, bare root, container, bulb, sprigs
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Palatable, human
Yes
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 9 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CAQU2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2769084 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z