POISONOUS SPECIES 261 



DEATH CAMAS (Zygadenus) 



Other common names for Zygadenus are alkaligrass, hog's- 

 potato, lobelia, mystery-grass, poison sego, soap plant, and 

 squirrel food. 



Species belonging to this genus are erect perennial herbs, 

 growing either from rootstocks or, as in the western species, 

 from a tunicated (membranous-covered) bulb, with leafy stems. 

 The leaves are long, narrow, and grasslike; the flowers are green, 

 yellow, or white, borne in terminal elongated or dense racemes 

 or panicles. The perianth is spreading, not dropping when 

 wilted, the sepals bearing one or two glands near the base. 

 The capsule is 3-lobed, opening to the base at maturity. The 

 species pictured in Figure 88 (colored plate) is Zygadenus elegans. 

 In general appearance it is similar to that of other western spe- 

 cies. 



Distribution and Habitat. — The species of death camas 

 are widely distributed throughout the United States, and as far 

 north as Alaska. Some species occur in abundance west of 

 the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast and are found at all 

 altitudes at which sheep graze. The plants are somewhat ex- 

 acting in the matter of site, preferring fairly moist localities 

 into which water seeps slowly, rather than wet, swampy, or 

 very dry ground. They are frequently found in shallow de- 

 pressions or ravines along the slopes of hills and mountains, and 

 grow either as scattered specimens mingled with other vege- 

 tation, or in masses, sometimes covering several acres. Death 

 camas rarely lasts later than July, although the life of its herb- 

 age varies with the altitude and the exposure where it grows. 

 The resemblance of death camas to grass before either is headed 

 out, its appearance earlier than most other herbaceous plants, 

 and its wide distribution render it especially dangerous to stock, 

 particularly sheep. 



Poisonous Species. — There are about ten species of Zygad- 

 enus, all of which are supposed to be more or less poisonous, 

 although none of the recent investigators has offered a system- 

 atic revision of the genus. Experiments with the various spe- 

 cies prove that Z. gramineus is the most virulent species, with 



