Death Camas
Death camas, Zygadenus venenosus, synthesizes an alkaloid that is poisonous to livestock, particularly sheep. Humans consuming the bulbs of death camas have died as well.
The alkaloid that protects the plant is also in its nectar, so this plant is poisonous to bees, but not all pollinators.
Another plant in the same genus, Zygadenus elegans, has the same name, death camas, for the same reason. Z. elegans is typically high in the mountains, while Z. venenosus is often associated with sagebrush.
I found a population of Z. venenosus at the ecotone between the Great Plains and the foothills of the Front Range.
Death camas and sego or mariposa lily and wild onion are all in the lily family, and the bulbs of mariposa lilies and wild onions are edible, while the very similar bulbs of death camas are deadly poisonous. Mistakes have been made.
Death Camas
Death camas, Zygadenus venenosus, synthesizes an alkaloid that is poisonous to livestock, particularly sheep. Humans consuming the bulbs of death camas have died as well.
The alkaloid that protects the plant is also in its nectar, so this plant is poisonous to bees, but not all pollinators.
Another plant in the same genus, Zygadenus elegans, has the same name, death camas, for the same reason. Z. elegans is typically high in the mountains, while Z. venenosus is often associated with sagebrush.
I found a population of Z. venenosus at the ecotone between the Great Plains and the foothills of the Front Range.
Death camas and sego or mariposa lily and wild onion are all in the lily family, and the bulbs of mariposa lilies and wild onions are edible, while the very similar bulbs of death camas are deadly poisonous. Mistakes have been made.