Camassia

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. It grows in the wild in great numbers in moist meadows. They are perennial plants with basal linear leaves measuring in length, which emerge early in the spring. They grow to a height of , with a multi-flowered stem rising above the main plant in summer. The six-petaled flowers vary in color from pale lilac or white to deep purple or blue-violet. Camas can appear to color entire meadows when in flower. Historically, the genus was placed in the lily family (Liliaceae), when this was very broadly defined to include most lilioid monocots. When the Liliaceae was split, in some treatments Camassia was placed in a family called Hyacinthaceae (now the subfamily Scilloideae). DNA and biochemical studies have led the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group to reassign Camassia to the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes six species : Camassia angusta (Engelm. & A.Gray) Blank. - prairie camas - southern Great Plains + mid-Mississippi Valley (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana) Camassia cusickii S.Watson - Cusick's camas - northeastern Oregon, west-central Idaho Camassia howellii S.Watson - Howell's camas - southwestern Oregon Camassia leichtlinii (Baker) S.Watson - large camas, great camas - British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, northern + central California, Washoe County in Nevada Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene - quamash, Indian camas, small camas - western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta), western United States (California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah) Camassia scilloides (Raf.) Cory - Atlantic camas, bear grass - eastern + Central North America from Maryland to Georgia, westward to Texas and north into Ontario. formerly included The name Camassia biflora was coined in 1969 for a South American species now known as Oziroe biflora.