[The Lily Family in Mt. Adams Country]

The Camas of Mt. Adams

Common camas (Camassia quamash ssp. maxima) as seen at Muddy Meadows on the northern side of the Mt. Adams Wilderness........June 21, 2005.

Common camas (Camassia quamash ssp. maxima) as seen at Muddy Meadows on the northern side of the Mt. Adams Wilderness.........June 21, 2005.

Varieties of Common Camas Present on Mt. Adams:

Cusick's Camas: Camassia cusickii - Leaves 10 or more. Plants foul smelling. Inflorescence densely flowerd and long, the flowers often overlaping. Tepals whither separately as the fruit begins forming. The fruit capsules are incurved and erect. Found only on a 10 mile stretch of the Klickitat River. This is a disjunct population with the main population in the Snake River Canyon.

Camassia quamash ssp. breviflora (Synonym: Camassia quamash var. breviflora) - Plants fairly stout in appearance. Inflorescence fairly dense. Tepals tend to twist together to cover the ovary as they wither. Pedicels 7-15 mm long, incurved and erect in fruit. Tepals 1.5-2 cm long, mostly 3-nerved. Leaves 1-1.7 cm wide, generally glaucous in appearance. Anthers typically bright yellow. Plants mostly less than 50 cm high.

Camassia quamash ssp. maxima (Synonym: Camassia quamash var. maxima) -

Camassia quamash ssp. quamash (Synonyms: Camassia quamash ssp. teapeae, Camassia quamash var. quamash, Phalangium quamash) - Plants fairly slender in appearance. Inflorescence fairly open. Tepals tend to spread separately as they wither, not covering the ovary. Pedicels erect-appressed or tightly appressed in fruit. Tepals 20-40 mm long and mostly 3-nerved. Leaves relatively narrow and not very glaucous in appearance. Anthers typically dull yellow to violet.


Paul Slichter