small camas
Camassia quamash · Liliaceae
small camas (Camassia quamash) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Liliaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 4 and warmer, down to about -28°F.
At a glance
| Type | forb-herb USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 2.3 ft USDA |
| Light | shade USDA |
| Water need | high USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 5.7–7 USDA |
| Bloom | April–May USDA |
| Flower color | Blue USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 4 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | herb-layer Derived |
| Nursery availability | Routinely Available USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It tolerates full shade. USDA rates it as having needs consistently moist ground. Its drought tolerance is rated none — it needs reliable moisture. It handles periodically wet ground (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance medium). It is recorded on soils from pH 5.7 to 7 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 4.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 2.3 ft, making it about knee height. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of April through May. Flowers are blue.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, coarse in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. Its active growth period is spring and summer. USDA rates its lifespan as moderate.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 16 to 55 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 110 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 10 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
It takes readily from seed, bare root, container stock, bulbs and sprigs. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It spreads vegetatively at a slow rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Its fire tolerance is rated medium. Its growth form is recorded as single crown.
Role in a guild
Herb layer. In a layered planting this is the herbaceous middle — perennials and grasses that fill the space between ground cover and shrubs. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Camassia
- Atlantic camas Camassia scilloides
Similar role and hardiness
- Columbian monkshood Aconitum columbianum
- Colorado blue columbine Aquilegia coerulea
- mountain brome Bromus marginatus
- eastern woodland sedge Carex blanda
- scarlet Indian paintbrush Castilleja coccinea
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol CAQU2, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, Edible, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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