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Common camas
Habit (mature) · Walter Siegmund / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Common camas
Camassia quamash
A spring-blooming native bulb of the moist meadows of the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies, common camas sends up a 2-3 foot scape lined with dozens of star-shaped blue-violet florets that open from the bottom up over basal grass-like leaves. It is the camas whose bulb was a staple food of Indigenous peoples across its range — the genus name comes from the Native American "kamas"/"quamash". The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags it as a plant of special value to native bees.
Native: 8 US states + 1 CA province
Review: Source-backed
Climate fit: moderate (61/100)
Pollinator
Border
Filler
Light
Full sun / Part shade
Water
Consistent moisture
Mature size
12-36" tall · 6" apart
Hardy in zones
3a-8b
brutally cold to frosty winters
Summer heat range
Cool-Warm
cool to warm summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.
Native in Illinois
No
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Native across 9 US states and Canadian provinces — a wide-ranging part of North America's plant communities.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Cold hardiness
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7b
Plotwright
Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)
Well-suited
In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Common camas (Camassia quamash). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/common-camas
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited18 source-backed.
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
University extension service
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
Plant type
Light
Moisture
Hardiness
Heat zone
Size
Spacing
Habit
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Wikimedia Commons
Photo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Backs 1 field
Image
Community photos
The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.
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