5° Muhlenbergia, Volume 5 



THE DEATH CAMAS 

 By A. A. Heller 



Toxicoscordion pantculatum (Ntitt.) Rydb. Bull. Tott. Club 

 30: 272. 1903. 



Helonias paniadata Nutt. Journ. Phila. Acad. 7: 57. 1834. 



Zygadenus paniculatns Wats. Bot. King Exped. 343. 1871. 



In the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 30: 272, Dr. 

 Rydberg separates certain of our western plants long called Zyg- 

 adenus, erecting the new genus Toxicoscordion, and restricting 

 the name Zygadenus to the original Z. glaberrimus of Michaux, 

 a plant of the Atlantic side of the continent, found in swamps 

 near the coast from Virginia to Florida. 



Toxicoscordion differs from true Zygadenus in having bulbs 

 instead of rootstocks, and the sepals and petals with a single 

 gland each instead of two glands. 



Toxicoscordion pantculatum is a stout plant, with branched 

 inflorescence. The flowers are creamy-white, the almost claw- 

 less petals and sepals rhombic-ovate, "acute," about 4 mm. long 

 and as wide at the base. The flower of a specimen collected 

 near Reno has "acutish" rather than acute divisions. While 

 Watson had the true plant at hand, he evidently also had one 

 or more other species which he confused with it, for he describes 

 the petals as "oblong;" and we know that theie are species with 

 oblong petals. He says that in Nevada it is "frequent on the 

 foot-hills of the Virginia, Trinity and West Humboldt Moun- 

 tains," at from 5000 to 6000 feet elevation. 



Rydberg says "it grows on hills up to an altitude of 1500m., 

 ranging from Montana and Washington to New Mexico and 

 California." 



While "death camas" does not apply as a name particularly 

 to Toxicoscordion panicu latum, it is apparently used more fre- 

 quently than any other of the names applied to this group of 

 plants. Poison camas, lobelia, squirrel food, wild onion, wild 

 sego, mystery grass, and sand corn, are other names. These 

 names are applied indiscriminately to a number of species, which 

 in turn have all commonly been referred to Zygadenus or Tox- 



