Camas Lily
/ˈkæməs ˌlɪli/noun
A North American flowering plant of the genus Camassia, especially one with edible bulbs.
Did you know?Camas bulbs were historically an important Indigenous food, but they could be confused with the poisonous bulbs of death camas, creating a real botanical danger.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact North America
Indigenous
qém’es / camas
“A regional Indigenous name for the edible bulb plant, often associated with the Nez Perce and neighboring peoples.”
18th Century
Chinook Jargon
kamass
“A trade-language form referring to the edible camas root.”
1790s
English
camas
“An English borrowing for the North American bulb plant.”
19th Century
Scientific Latin
Camassia
“The botanical genus name assigned to camas plants.”
Old English
Old English
lilie
“Lily, a flowering plant; borrowed through Germanic from Latin.”
Modern English
English
camas lily
“A common name combining the Indigenous-derived plant name camas with lily, based on the flower’s appearance.”