Flowers are inspiring! Seeing the return of the wild Camas & Bluebells blooming in my nearest park (Beacon Hill in Victoria, British Columbia) always revives my spirits and reminds me of this historical tidbit: Native Americans or First Nations used the Camas bulb as a food source.

I’d never looked into that historical tidbit, but my story-in-progress, HEALING HOPE, finally gave me the nudge to do so. Thinking about herbal remedies (made by my Old West doctor heroine, Henrietta Hope) made me ask, just for fun…

What plants could be harvested from the wilderness? And when and how? 

First, be careful!

The white-flowered Meadow Death-Camas (gotta love the name) is TOXIC and (just to make life trickier than it need be) it often grows in the same areas as the edible Camas. Plus the bulbs are apparently difficult to distinguish.

Now back to the tasty, I’m-not-going-to-kill you Camas…

• The bulbs are said to taste like a baked sweet potato but sweeter! And they are part of the asparagus family.
• When to harvest? In the autumn, once the flowers have withered.
• How to cook? Pit-roast or boil the bulbs.
• Where to find? In southern Canada and the northwestern United States, from British Columbia and Alberta to California and east from Washington state to Montana and Wyoming.
• Who ate them? The Nez Perce, Cree, Coast Salish, Lummi, and Blackfoot. They also contributed to the survival of members of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
• Other names? Quamash, camash, and wild hyacinth.

And what about those Bluebells that I see growing with the Camas?

• Be careful here as well! Bluebell bulbs are said to be POISONOUS in their “fresh state” – as opposed to their dried state, I guess.
• The ones I’m seeing are Spanish (not British) Bluebells and they are not only blue/purple but also pink and white.
• How to use them? The juice (in all parts of the plant) was used as a substitute for starch (when and where stiff collars and other stiff clothing were in fashion). The sticky quality also made it good for bookbinders’ gum and setting feathers in arrows. Tennyson spoke of Bluebell juice being used to cure snake-bite.
• Other names? Darn it – they’re sometimes called wild hyacinth, as well! So be careful when/if someone tells you – it’s all right to eat the wild hyacinth.

Yes, harvesting wildflowers sounds like a tricky business and best left to the adventurous or those who know exactly what they’re doing.

How adventurous are you? What wild food have you eaten? 

As a kid, I remember picking mostly wild berries and fruit: wild strawberries (so tiny!), saskatoons, redcurrants, rosehips, and (if my memory is correct) something called a pin cherry (that also sounds tiny and a lot of effort to pick).