Camassia scilloides
Origin: Kentucky
Improvement status: Wild
Seeds per packet: ~25
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Atlantic camas, the eastern cousin of its more famous western relative (also known as "quamash"), is an exciting native perennial wild vegetable — and one with great potential as a cultivated crop. It can be found from Texas and Oklahoma in the west, to southern Ontario, Pennsylvania and Maryland in the east, though the highest concentrations of the plant are found in the lower Midwest from eastern Kansass to Ohio.
Camas is a beautiful asparagus-family perennial with edible bulbs which once served as a staple food for many indigenous peoples. The flowers of this species very much resemble Eurasian squills (hence the Latin name), as well as other lily-like flowers that emerge from bulbs.
Our source for these seeds, our good friend Zach Elfers of Pennsylvania, sings the praises of Atlantic camas far better than we ever could at his Nomad Seed Project website. Check it out here.
GROWING TIPS: Camas prefers acid soil and full sun, though it can also thrive as a spring ephemeral in the shade of various deciduous trees. Seeds are best fall-planted outdoors.
