Description
Bright white star shaped flowers with a green eye adorn the flowering stem in tight dense cluster. Bloom begins in mid-May to late June. It grows along side with both Giant camas (Camassia leichtlinii) and Common camas (Camassia quamash) . There is no confusion between the two Genus in flower, seed capsules or seed. I have yet to compare the bulbs, but I can imagine there being some confusion there.
Death camas is considered extremely toxic by all First Nations groups. So you might ask yourself why it is still in existence and wasn’t dug out and destroyed over the hundreds of generations of those cultivating Camassia. It did serve a purpose to poison arrows and mark harvesting ground ownership.
- Seed Count: 15-20
- Collection Date: July 2024
- Hardiness Zone: 4-9
- Height and Width: 75cm x 20cm
- Germination test type: hand sort
- Family: Liliaceae
How to germinate Toxicoscordion venenosum seed
Soak seed 24 hours. Cold stratify 45-100 days. Alternately sow outdoors in Fall-early winter where the soil will not freeze. Germination can happen in the dark, so watch the seed if cold stratifying in the fridge. Prefers cool temps to germinate (4C) so no heat mats or additional warmth is required. Germinates readily. Can be sown en masse in 1 gallon pots and pricked out when dormant.
