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Native Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Zigadenus elegans (Mountain death camas)
Loughmiller, Campbell and Lynn

Zigadenus elegans Pursh

Mountain death camas, White camas

Liliaceae (Lily Family)

USDA Symbol: ZIEL2

USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

A plant with long, basal, grass-like leaves and cream or greenish-white, bowl-shaped flowers in a raceme or branched flower cluster.

The highly poisonous Meadow Deathcamas (Z. venenosus) grows throughout most of the western United States. It has petal-like segments about 1/4 (6 mm) long, the inner 3 slightly longer and with a short stalk at the base, and stamens about as long as the segments.

 

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Flower:
Fruit: Green
Size Class: 0-1 ft. , 1-3 ft.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: Jun , Jul , Aug

Distribution

USA: AK , AZ , CO , IA , ID , IL , IN , MI , MN , MO , MT , NC , ND , NE , NM , NV , NY , OH , OR , PA , SD , TN , TX , UT , VA , VT , WA , WI , WV , WY
Canada: MB , NB , ON , QC , SK
Native Distribution: Western Canada; south to western Washington, eastern Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Native Habitat: Mountain meadows, rocky slopes, and forests.
USDA Native Status: L48(N), AK(N), CAN(N)

Growing Conditions

Light Requirement: Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist , Wet
Soil Description: Sandy

Benefit

Warning: All parts of this wildflower contain toxic chemicals (alkaloids) said to be more potent than strychnine. Just two bulbs can be fatal. Symptoms include salivating, vomiting, diarrhea, lowered body temperature and a slow heartbeat. (Kershaw)
Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Bibliography

Bibref 946 - Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, Sally

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Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Zigadenus elegans in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Zigadenus elegans in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Zigadenus elegans

Metadata

Record Modified: 2012-10-15
Research By: TWC Staff

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