Ethnobotany, Culture, Management, and Use of Common Camas

Stevens, Michelle; Darris, Dale C; Lambert, Scott M

doi:10.3368/npj.2.1.47

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(4 reference statements)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The forb species Camassia quamash stands out (Table 4) because the root is an important food source for western indigenous peoples, like the Nez Perce (Stevens et al, 2001). Burning grasslands can create optimal environments for the growth, production (Stevens et al, 2001; USDA, 2006), and increase in abundance of Camassia quamash (Thomas & Gamón, 1995). The role of fire in conservation of Camassia quamash in the PNB requires more detailed research since it showed affinity for the burned and grazed (both) treatment in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Forb community response to prescribed fire, livestock grazing, and an invasive annual grass in the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie

Watson

Lukas

Morris

et al. 2021

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions: Grassland degradation due to agriculture, changing fire regimes, and invasive species negatively affects forb communities. Conserving forbs and the services they provide requires a better understanding of their responses to interacting disturbances. Although fire and livestock grazing are important disturbances, their effect on forb communities in the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairies is not fully understood. Our objectives were to: (a) determine how prescribed fire and livestock grazing influence forb community composition, cover, species richness, and diversity over a 10-year span; (b) identify indicator species for each treatment; and (c) quantify forb responses to increasing cover of the invasive grass Ventenata dubia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forb community response to prescribed fire, livestock grazing, and an invasive annual grass in the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie

Watson

Lukas

Morris

et al. 2021

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Finally, camas plays an important environmental role. The meadows are a critical ecological system that support a diverse community of insects and other wildlife (Parachnowitsch & Elle, 2005; Stevens et al, 2000). Despite these values of camas and its habitat, many populations are imperilled.…”

Section: Getting the Word Out: Information Sharingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting people, plants and place: A native plant society's journey towards a community of practice

Beckwith¹,

Johansson²,

Huff³

2022

People and Nature

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1. Native plants are often promoted for gardening, biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration. Native plant gardening can contribute to environmental sustainability by conserving water and creating biologically diverse habitat.Despite the many virtues of native plants, there are challenges to building relationships between people and plants, including limited plant availability and low level of general plant appreciation and literacy. Activities that foster peopleplant connections can help to alleviate Plant Awareness Disparity, foster plant conservation and produce more native plants.2. We describe how our environmental non-profit organization, the Kootenay Native Plant Society, has worked to encourage people-plant connections in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada, over a 10-year period. We borrowed from different disciplines, practices and theories to inform our workfrom organic gardening and ecological restoration to sustainable development.Our programmes developed from outreach and educational activities to more place-based and interactive initiatives. Initial activities, including wildflower walks and school programmes, offered plant information but more meaningful plant engagement was needed. We provided deeper knowledge through a flagship species approach showcasing a native plant, camas Camassia quamash, itxwa, resulting in greater appreciation for camas, although this strategy rarely translated to broader plant conservation by residents. We developed more specialized programmes that trained participants in native plant propagation and gardening, where they gained competence and contributed to a social group linked by community-based conservation efforts and a passion for native plants.3. We learned our journey to connect more people with native species and get plants into gardens was a pathway towards a community of practice. Building lasting people-plant connections is not straightforward; it is an adaptive integrative process requiring delivery of dynamic and complementary activities developed over time from cumulative insights and organizational reflection. What we thought was simply an unavailability of native plants paired with people's lack of native plant appreciation was more complex, requiring a shift in social | 1415

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“…Camassia quamash (Asparagaceae), or common camas, is an ecologically important perennial herb that occurs from British Columbia to northwestern California, and eastward to Montana and Nevada (Stevens, Darris and Lambert 2000; Turner and Kuhnlein 1983). Camas populations grow in seasonally wet areas, such as floodplains and wet meadows, that usually have a dry period (Gritzner 1994; Leffingwell 1930).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though published work on camas ecology is sparse, Camassia spp. bulbs are consumed by bears and rodents (Thoms 1989), while leaves are an important source of food for deer, elk, small mammals, and herbivorous insects (Stevens, Darris and Lambert 2000; Stanley, Dunwiddie and Kaye 2011; Thoms 1989). Camas flowers provide resources for native bees including bumblebees (Parachnowitsch and Elle 2005; pers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening Relationships to Traditional Foodways: Adapting Food Practices Through Camas Cultivation Experiments on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation

Fellows,

Hart-Fredeluces,

Brown

et al. 2023

Journal of Ethnobiology

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Contemporary efforts to strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty can take many forms, some of which may depart from traditional food gathering practices. Common camas ( Camassia quamash) is a wild-gathered geophyte that served as a staple food for Indigenous Peoples prior to colonialism. Because the abundance of camas has declined and gathering areas are difficult to access, this project sought to increase Shoshone-Bannock Tribal citizen access to camas by experimenting with ways to grow camas locally. We also held events that provided an opportunity for Tribal citizens to interact with camas. Strengthening relationships with camas in these ways not only can enhance the health of Indigenous communities because of camas’ nutritional value, but also because renewing practices and values associated with camas brings Indigenous Peoples together to redefine and assert their nationhood. Our team of authors includes Tribal- and university-affiliated professionals and students who worked collaboratively to develop this project. We evaluated how different growing conditions and seed sources influence camas cultivation. We found that soil type, stratification setting, and seed source significantly affected seed percent germination. While cold-moist stratifying seeds in a controlled setting in potting soil generally led to the highest percent germination, soil type interacted with seed source, suggesting some degree of local adaptation across gathering areas. Transplanted bulbs had high survival rates, suggesting both seeds and bulbs as viable options to increase local access to camas. This project contributes to our understanding of camas ecology while also demonstrating one approach to help strengthen traditional foodways through Tribal-university partnerships.

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Ethnobotany, Culture, Management, and Use of Common Camas

Cited by 9 publications

References 2 publications

Forb community response to prescribed fire, livestock grazing, and an invasive annual grass in the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie

Forb community response to prescribed fire, livestock grazing, and an invasive annual grass in the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie

Connecting people, plants and place: A native plant society's journey towards a community of practice

Strengthening Relationships to Traditional Foodways: Adapting Food Practices Through Camas Cultivation Experiments on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation

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