The Wild Blue Hyacinth, Camassia cusickii, is a wild flower plant that grows in North America. It belongs to the Lily family and has thus the distinctive linear leaves with parallel venation and flowers in parts of three. Although it might come in various shades of blue, cream and white, it is mostly found in ice blue or baby blue.

Distribution

Although scattered from coast to coast Camassia cusickii is more abundant in the northwestern states and is usually found in the Canadian Life Zone, and prefers damp meadows. Stations have been located in the Eagle Creek Mountains, Powder River Mountains and Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Cusick’s Camas self-seed and germinate easily, as long as they find rich, moist and well-drained soil

Habitat and ecology

A native to North America, the Camassia cusicikii tolerates damp meadows at subalpine and alpine elevations (4000 and 6000 feet) and tolerates pond edges, rich soils and bloom well in either sun or shade.

Morphology

Individuals of this species have a long 30 in. leafless stem at the top of which numerous flowers, as many as 100 fill the raceme. The flowers are in parts of threes and the petals, which are usually of a pale blue, are long and slim. The leaves are long and linear with parallel venation. At the tip of the stem lays a cluster of unopened flower buds.
Cusick’s camas, other name for the plant grows from a coated bulb in layers like that of an onion. Its bulb is believed to be the largest of this genus.

Food

It is believed that the Indians used this plant in their food preparations, although many find it to be inedible with a pungent and nauseous smell.

Rarity

Due to its limited range, and despite its ability to germinate quite easily, this plant is very rare.

Culture

They should be planted using fertile moist soil in late summer or early fall, but late planting can also be successful since they endure a lot of abuse. They should be planted at about six inches deep with the same distance for spacing. Unlike others of this genus, this species needs a lot of space to accommodate the offsets. Bulbs planted one year will flower the next.
Although it prefers high elevations, it adapts well to sea level climates.