''Toxicoscordion venenosum'', with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the genus ''

Toxicoscordion ''Toxicoscordion'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae, tribe Melanthieae, first described as a genus in 1903. The genus is mainly distributed in the midwestern United States and western North America, with some species i ...

'', of the

Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to the ...

family. It is native to western North America from New Mexico to Saskatchewan and west to the Pacific Ocean. The plant is called alapíšaš in

Sahaptin The Sahaptin are a number of Native American tribes who speak dialects of the Sahaptin language. The Sahaptin tribes inhabited territory along the Columbia River and its tributaries in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Sahaptin-s ...

, and nupqasaquⱡ ("nup-ka-sa-qush") in

Ktunaxa The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...

Description

''Toxicoscordion venenosum'' grows up to 70 cm tall with long, basal, grass-like leaves. The bulbs are oval and look like onions but do not smell like edible onions of the genus ''

Allium ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, Davi ...

''. The flowers are cream coloured or white and grow in pointed clusters, flowering between April and July. The flower clusters are a raceme (each cluster branches once along the main stalk), unlike its close relative ''

Toxicoscordion paniculatum ''Toxicoscordion paniculatum'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names foothill deathcamas, panicled death-camas, and sand-corn. It is widely distributed across much of the western United States, especially in the mountains and ...

'', in which the flowers are born in a panicle (doubly branched flower stalks). The flowers have three sepals and three petals.

Varieties

Varieties include: * ''Toxicoscordion venenosum'' var. ''gramineum'' (Rydb.) Brasher * ''Toxicoscordion venenosum'' var. ''venenosum''a variety or the solo current species classification

Distribution

The plant is widespread across much of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, and northern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

(México). They tend to grow in dry meadows and on dry hillsides as well as sagebrush slopes and montane forests.

Toxicity

All parts of the plant are poisonous. It is dangerous for humans as well as livestock. Consumption of 2% to 6% of the body weight of the animal is likely to be fatal. Along with other

alkaloids Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar st ...

, zygacine and other toxic

esters In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides are ...

of zygadenine are the primary

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...

contributing to the plant's toxicity. The plant is visited by a specialist mining bee, '' Andrena astragali'', which is possibly the only bee that can tolerate its toxins. Others are fatally poisoned. File:Zigadenus_venenosus_0102.JPG, Kingston Prairie Preserve Image:Zigadenus venenosus var venenosus 2.jpg,

University of California Botanical Garden The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34-acre (13.7 ha) botanical garden located on the University of California, Berkeley campus, in Strawberry Canyon. The garden is in the Berkeley Hills, inside the city boundary of Oakland, Cali ...

Image:Zigadenus_venenosus_16940.JPG,

William O. Douglas Wilderness The William O. Douglas Wilderness is a Wilderness Act, designated wilderness in Central Washington. It includes located between the U.S. Route 12 (Washington), U.S. Route 12 and State Route 410 (Washington), State Route 410 and is jointly admini ...

File:Zigadenus_venenosus_5869.JPG, Washington Park (Anacortes)

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Toxicoscordion venenosum'' (Meadow deathcamas)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Toxicoscordion venenosum'' var. ''venenosum''USDA Plants Profile for ''Zigadenus venenosus'' var. ''venenosus'' (meadow deathcamas)Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center: ''Zigadenus venenosus'' (Meadow death camas, death camas)Turner Photographics, Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest: ''Zigadenus venenosus'' (Meadow death camas) UC Photos gallery — ''Toxicoscordion venenosum''
{{- venenosum Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Alberta Flora of Baja California Flora of California Flora of British Columbia Flora of Nebraska Flora of Nevada Flora of New Mexico Flora of North Dakota Flora of Saskatchewan Flora of South Dakota Flora of Utah Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Plants described in 1879 Flora without expected TNC conservation status