Species Spotlight- Camas

Camas, Camassia quamash, is a strikingly beautiful flower that can be found blooming in the Willamette Valley at this time of year. What makes camas one of our most culturally important plants is the nutritious bulb, which has provided sustenance and wealth to the Native people of this region for tens of thousands of years.

Camas thrives in areas of full sunlight such as prairies or savannas, especially after disturbance. In Native tradition that disturbance takes the form of two main practices: burning and hand digging. Burning purifies the soil, releases nutrients and controls competing (often invasive) vegetation; traditional digging sticks gently till and aerate the soil, and small bulblets are replanted during this practice.  

In many areas, camas has been an extremely important staple food for Native peoples. Native people traditionally cooked camas in large earth ovens or pits. After cooking for several days, the camas could be eaten immediately, dried for later use, or pressed into cakes. The cakes were highly valued as a portable food that could be easily stored for the winter or carried while traveling; they were traded extensively by bands of the Chinook, Kalapuya and Molalla  tribes, and other people throughout the Northwest.

Camas is still eaten by Tribal people today. While the species itself is not considered endangered, many of its native habitats are imperiled, mainly due to development and invasive species. In Portland Harbor, the Trustee Council is planning restoration projects to bring camas and other culturally significant plants back into the landscape.