Howell's camas | |
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herbarium specimen at Smithsonian collected in Oregon 1889 | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asparagaceae |
Subfamily: | Agavoideae |
Genus: | Camassia |
Species: | C. howellii |
Binomial name | |
Camassia howellii S. Watson 1890 | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Camassia howellii, commonly known as Howell's camas, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae endemic to western Oregon. [2]
Discovered in 1889, Camassia howellii is now considered to be imperiled due to residential development, mining and grazing. [3]
Camassia howellii is found exclusively in the southwestern region of Oregon, almost only in Josephine county, including on Grants Pass and Sexton Mountain. [4] The 12 populations make up a total of 3000 plants. These sites are threatened by human developments. This species is currently under the global conservation status rank G2 Imperiled. [5] Although other species of Camassia are still abundant in the Northwest, this one is not in Oregon.
Camassia howellii thrives in wet meadows in serpentine soil. They are found in eastern Oregon where precipitation levels range from 70 to 100 inches per year and temperatures from 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit per year. These perennials are late bloomers usually during the month of May and the flowers will wither in the autumn. [6] The common elevation is between 200 and 700 meters high. [4]
Camassia howellii grows from a bulb and has 60 cm long basal leaves which range around 4 to 7 per plant.
The plant's inflorescences reach about 15 to 40 cm (6 to 15.5 in) long which are usually bluish violet. The flowers are actinomorphic made up of five 20 mm (0.79 in) long petals. There can be 100 flowers in a raceme. These flowers sit atop a stem about 50 cm (19.5 in) tall. [3] The flowers are radially symmetrical and are composed of five deep bluish violet petals. The petals range from 10 to 20 mm long and about 3 to 5 mm wide. [7] This species is known to bloom in the month of May. The small bulbs are between 1.5 and 3 centimeters in diameter, and have a brown coat. The few, narrow leaves are between 20 and 60 centimeters in length. The capsule fruit is between 0.5 and 1 centimeter in long, shiny green in color, and has 2 to 5 seeds per fruit. It has smaller capsules and wider spreading pedicels compared to other Camassia species. [4]
Native Americans and settlers considered Camassia howellii as an important part of their diet. The city of Camas in Washington and many parts of the Northwestern United States was named after this plant due to its large cultivation and consumption by the Native Americans and first white settlers.
In autumn the bulbs were harvested after the flowers dried up and were boiled or pit-cooked. [8] The bulbs were also dried and ground into flour. As the settlers began to expand their territory, they raised cattle which limited the growth of camas in the area.
The common names soap plant, soaproot and amole refer to the genus Chlorogalum. They are native to western North America, with some species in Oregon but they are mostly found in California. Common names of the genus and several species derive from their use as soap.
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.
Camassia quamash, commonly known as camas, kwetlal, small camas, common camas, common camash or quamash, is a perennial herb. It is native to western North America in large areas of southern Canada and the northwestern United States.
Toxicoscordion venenosum, with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is named for its well known toxic qualities, with both its common names and its scientific name referencing this. Because its nectar is also poisonous, it is mainly pollinated by the death camas miner bee, which specializes in collecting the toxic pollen for its young. It is native to western North America from New Mexico to Saskatchewan and west to the Pacific Ocean.
Erythronium americanum, the trout lily, yellow trout lily, fawn lily, yellow adder's-tongue, or yellow dogtooth violet, is a species of perennial, colony forming, spring ephemeral flower native to North America and dwelling in woodland habitats. Within its range it is a very common and widespread species, especially in eastern North America. The common name "trout lily" refers to the appearance of its gray-green leaves mottled with brown or gray, which allegedly resemble the coloring of brook trout.
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.
Calochortus amabilis is a species of the genus Calochortus in the family Liliaceae. It is also known by the common names Diogenes' lantern, yellow globe-tulip, golden globe-tulip, yellow globe lily, golden fairy lantern, golden lily-bell, Chinese lantern, and short lily.
Calochortus bruneaunis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family, and is known by the common name Bruneau mariposa lily.
Calochortus leichtlinii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Leichtlin's mariposa, smokey mariposa, and mariposa lily.
Calochortus nudus is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name naked mariposa lily.
Sabulina howellii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Howell's stitchwort and Howell's sandwort.
Toxicoscordion paniculatum is a species of flowering plant known by the common names foothill deathcamas, panicled death-camas, and sand-corn. It is widely distributed across much of the western United States, especially in the mountains and deserts of the Great Basin region west of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of habitats, including sagebrush plateau, grasslands, forests, and woodlands.
Veronica perfoliata, commonly known as digger's speedwell, is a common perennial herb found at higher altitudes in south-eastern Australia. It is a low-growing multi-stemmed plant rising from a woody rootstock. It has rounded blue-grey foliage and sprays of intense violet-blue flowers at the end of arching branches. It is occasionally cultivated as a garden plant.
Camassia cusickii, common name Cusick's camas or Cusick's quamash, is a species of plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to parts of North America. C. cusickii originally appeared in horticultural journals in the late 1800s, but they have been sold and cultivated for about thirty years.
Calochortus umpquaensis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Umpqua mariposa lily. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it is mainly limited to the region of the Klamath Mountains on the Little River in Douglas County, in particular the Watson and Ace Williams Mountains. The flower has also been found at a single location in each of Josephine and Jackson Counties.
Iris glaucescens is a plant species in the genus Iris and subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, found in Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. It has blue-grey sickle-shaped leaves, slender stem, and spring flowers in blue-violet, pale violet, lilac-purple, to deep purple, to light bluish, and almost white shades. It is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It was merged with another similar iris in the region, and became a synonym of Iris scariosa, before being divided into two separate species again, although some sources still call it a synonym of Iris scariosa.
Viola abyssinica is a low perennial plant with long trailing stems and whitish or light purple flowers with purple markings on the lip, that is assigned to the violet family. In the wild it grows in moist grassland, forest glades and margins, at altitudes between 1,200 and 3,400 m, in eastern Africa, from South Africa to Ethiopia, in Cameroun and Nigeria, and on Madagascar and Bioko. Vernacular names are bezongozongo in Madagascar, and dukunsha in Ethiopia.
Camassia leichtlinii, the great camas or large camas, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. This herbaceous perennial is native to western North America in British Columbia, Canada and California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, in the United States.
Symphyotrichum molle is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae) endemic to the Bighorn Mountains of Montana and Wyoming in the United States. Commonly known as soft aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that ranges from 30 to 60 centimeters in height.
Penstemon ophianthus, the coiled anther penstemon, is a species of small perennial plant in the plantain family. It has very noticeable dark violet lines on its flowers over a lighter blue-lavender color. The species grows in the plateaus and canyon lands of western Colorado and New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Utah.