#Camassia scilloides

[cedar-glade]

It's still the species rich dry hillside that I know and love; though, only half of the hyacinth was in bloom at the time.

Alluvial mesic riparian flat woods meets mixed conglomerant and partially concreted dry hillside of the Great Miami miander.

Here is one of Hamilton co. Ohio's greatest displays of unique flora. The hill isnt an ecotone and the change isnt abrupt though the niche of a few species is noticable and subtle. In bloom was blue eyed mary, catch bedstraw, both starry and TN chick weed, spreading chervil, sweet anise root, black snake root, and dwarf lark spur. The forrest it's self is home to much more blooming at the same time. For this specific spot though, the hyacinth is in the spot light.

[aisling-saoirse]

Eastern Camas - Camassia scilloides

Eastern Camas/Wild Hyacinth is a lesser known relative to the famous western species C. quamash. While this plant is native throughout the Midwest, especially around the Mississippi river, it is generally restricted to wet meadows, stream banks and the occasional open woodland with moist acidic rich soils.

The Eastern Camas is a perennial bulb forming member of the asparagecea family, unlike the Hyacinth which the common name derives this species only really propagates via seed. In terms of appearance the plant typically holds a single raceme (think stalk) that ends in 30-40 flowers. As for size of the plants scientific studies have found a noticeable morphology in appearance between where said seeds are sourced. Seeds collected from the Ozark populations tend to have taller individuals than those found in Illinois bottomlands, this study suggests that Camas populations found further south adapted without glaciation and inhabited a location for a much longer time period without physical change. What an interesting hypothesis!

Camas are well known for their edible bulb, the western 'common Camas' is famous for its ethnobotanical use amoung indigenous peoples, the Eastern Camas is no different. The Camas bulb is edible, when eaten raw it can be gummy but sweet, indigenous methods of preparation require a slow cook over 48 hours which render the bulb to a flavor reminiscent of chestnuts. Bulbs can also be dried and made into flour as well. I would never remove camas from their habitat personally: I enjoy their beauty, I'm not indigenous and have heard members of eastern tribal diaspora upset over the removal of their ancestors' foodway, and most importantly beginners often confuse this species with the death camas: Zigadenus venenosus.

So if you live around the Midwest, look for beautiful fields popping up around April-May, you may get a chance to see something wonderful.

[faguscarolinensis]

Camassia scilloides / Atlantic Camas at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[lmaxell-plants]

Camassia Scilloides - Wild Hyacinth

Native

Asparagaceae (asparagus family)

Bloom: April

Notes: purchased and planted in fall of 2023, really soft blue/white flowers that seem to only last a day or two,surprisingly the ones planted in the stonier section are doing better than the ones in the more organic soil.

Links:

[rebeccathenaturalist]

It's Tell a Friend Friday! Please enjoy this picture of Atlantic camas (Camassia scilloides) I found in Missouri.

Then tell someone you know about my work–you can reblog this post, or send it to someone you think may be interested in my natural history writing, classes, and tours, as well as my upcoming book, The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go. Here’s where I can be found online:

Website - http://www.rebeccalexa.com

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[hermo-dactylus]

American Apollon 🪻

(UPG)

Info after page break:

I decided to make this collage for fun bc I wanted to showcase a more "local" (American) approach to Him. I live in America so I chose American native plants + animals and added a banjo in there since He is the God of music after all. Obv this is UPG so take with a grain of salt.

1. Turkey vulture

2. Camassia Scilloides

3. Sonoran king snake

4. The Banjo Player by William Sidney Mount

5. Apollon

6. Lyreleaf sage

7. American tulip tree

8. Carolina larkspur

9. Eastern box turtle

[silversbotanical]

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) Watercolor

Available on INPRNT

[iffoundreturntosea]

April 17, Day 107/108

Day 107 2015

#pretty #pink #flowers #wildflowers #beautiful #nature #outdoors #spring #afternoon #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 108 2016

Beads and spools

#beads #spools #craft #create #imagine #shadesofspring #pastels #april #picoftheday #project365 #day108

Momma is so very talented but she really needs to give me my octopus spool 🤪

Day 107 2017

Bruce is dew

#getcreative #grass #water #dew #macro #upclose #refraction #nature #outdoors #spring #bruce #shark #gooddaybruce findingnemo #april #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 107 2018

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)

#wildhyacinth #beautiful #purple #flowers #wildflowers #texas #spring #nature #outdoors #april #bouquet #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 107 2019

This is all me ❤️

#baby #seaturtle #babyseaturtle #tiny #cute #hatchling #release #wild #beach #ocean #free #poetry #haiku #nationalhaikupoetryday #april #april17 #2019 #nationalday #nationaldaycalendar #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 108 2020

Well loved snippers

#art #artsupplies #scissors #snipsnip #paper #leather #journal #journalit #april #april17 #2020 #picoftheday #project365 #day108

Day 107 2021

David is part merman 🧜🏻‍♂️

#david #betta #bettafish #fish #merman #tail #scales #color #lush #april #april17 #2021 #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 107 2022

I didn’t get to see all of my family today but it was nice seeing the one I did. Love you all 💖 Hoppy Easter!

#easter #family #nieces #love #april #april17 #2022 #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 107 2023

Parched

#beached #clay #sand #shells #shippinglane #galveston #parched #magnus #magnifytheoutdoors #april #april17 #2023 #picoftheday #project365 #day107

Day 108 2024

Try to guess without looking at the tag (I’ll put it at the end if you wanna try) Hint it’s a repeated theme…

#dailytheme #differentperspective #macro #upclose #litup #seacreature #sanddollar #april #april17 #2024 #picoftheday #project365 #day108

I turned this one upside down and lit it up with a uv flashlight! Just wow!!

[palatezones]

Yesterday, in the garden. The blue are squill, and the white are not camassia; they're pushkinia scilloides!

(They're very vigorous, about 6" tall, and peaking now, while the squill are still finding their way out of the dirt, and only 3" tall.)

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) has edible bulbs.

More info on Plants for a Future.

Special note: while this species has at least one edible part, some plants it resembles do not and are poisonous or even deadly.

The death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum) is one example:

And the garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) is another:

Don’t let the common names fool you; the wild hyacinth and garden hyacinths are not closely related.

Thankfully the range of the death camas and the wild hyacinth don’t overlap. Garden hyacinths tend to stay in the garden and the richness of colour isn’t likely to be found in the wild hyacinth. Still, it’s not impossible to find either the death camas or garden hyacinth where they don’t belong. Forage safely.

[bewitchedbotanist]

More photos from an excursion to Blackburn Bluffs Preserve in northern Arkansas in April 2021.

[cedar-glade]

Drier hillside, Richardson preserve, section of depositional karst conglomerate based hillside. Open woodland sections with dry soils surrounded by mesic zones often have their own unique forbe community compared to the rest of the forest. In this photoset the light glazes over many different members that make up this mixing composition. twords the base of the hill we see normal mesic riparian floodplain and flat species such as Phlox divaricata,  Thalictrum thalictroides,  Geranium maculatum, Polemonium reptans, Polemonium reptans. A species more prominent in mesic areas yet mixed into all sections of the forest floor mosaic is Delphinium tricorne, Collinsia verna ( an annual) too. The drier sections show signs of mainly  Packera obovata, though what’s also apparent in the drier sections is what’s to come,  Camassia scilloides and  Allium cernuum. 

Adaptation to water requirements and being more associated to a niche based on soil chemistry can be a fairly obvious thing once you see your plant communities change, species do prefer an active site and will “compete” or rather fill in the niche better, have higher fetality(reproductive success of seed made), recruitment ( new individuals that actively are found and may establish) and Natality( a true function of recruitment, a rate at which the species propagates(new recruits/total population in area)),  if site requirements favor the species over another that is coevolved in the same region. Looking at these mosaics also gives you a spatial reference for the size of the habitat/deposit/site of interest and may even tell you the potential for other species that are of more interest that could be hidden. Zones where more establishment long term meet a zone or area with high average mortality or low average species specific density form a theoretical fluctuating border to the realized niche, while the theoretical boarder may be in flux due to active recruitment, the yearly average or areas with commonly low density can be considered a indiscrete abrupt area that boarders a potential edge or theoretical/fundamental niche edge. Competition favoring a new/ different species over a species that was already there can also eventually disrupt this border so these things are considered somewhat transient or always having potential fluctuations ecologically speaking. 

Atlantic Woodland Cammas, Camassia scilloides 

Packera obovata, Golden Roundleaf Groundsel and Delphinium tricorne, Dwarf Larkspur

[aisling-saoirse]

Eastern Camas in a Meadow - May 6th 2023

[nativemichiganwildflowers-blog]

Day 18: Wild Hyacinth

Camassia scilloides

[47015741]

Wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides). Prophetstown State Park, Indiana [OC]

[debunkshy]

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)

The Arb, WI, 5-31-17