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Camassia species

Small camas, Camassia quamash

The bulb is edible raw or cooked. The bulb, which can be up to 5cm in diameter, has a mild, starchy flavour when eaten raw, but a gummy texture that reduces the enjoyment of it somewhat. When cooked, however, it develops a delicious sweet flavour somewhat like sweet chestnuts, and is a highly nutritious food.

Excellent when slow baked, it can also be dried and made into a powder which can be used as a thickener in stews or mixed with cereal flours when making bread, cakes etc.

The bulbs can be boiled down to make a molasses, this was used on festival occasions by various Indian tribes.

The bulbs can be harvested at any time of the year, but are probably best in early summer when the seeds are ripe.

One report says that the bulbs contain inulin (a starch that cannot be digested by humans) but that this breaks down when the bulb is cooked slowly to form the sugar fructose which is sweet and easily digested. Quamash bulbs were a staple food of the N. American Indians.

A decoction of the roots has been used to induce labour. An infusion of the leaves has been used to treat vaginal bleeding after birth and to help expel the placenta.

Large camas, Camassia leichtlinii

camasia leichtinii Uses as the small camas above, but with a larger bulb, and larger plant. That makes it easier to grow, as it will be less likely to be overgrown.

The large cammas can be bought as an ornamental in blue or white.

While the cammas bulbs are edible, they take some time to multiply. This means one can't expect a harvest from them every year, but only when they are getting crowded and need to be split. They will grow mainly as an ornamental plant, but with the benefit of offering some use as food.