XZigadenus elegans - Elegant Death CamasX
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Elegant Death Camas -or- Wand Lily -or- Poisen Sego (Zigadenus elegans), family Liliaceae (Lily)
Isn't this flower lovely? To LOOK at yes.
CAUTION: Don't let any part of this plant enter your body, IT WILL KILL YOU. The name is a telling clue. Many livestock animals alone, AND early western settlers, have been killed by ingesting this plant. The roots are easily mistaken for edible onions or lily bulbs. The poison is zygadenine and is more potent than strychnine. The plant is a perennial also called Mountain Death Camas. It can cause convulsions, coma, and then death.
Fortunately this is a small group with only about 15 species in the genus. They are found in North America and Asia. The plants grow from bulbs or rhizomes. Per WIKIPEDIA: 'they are now regarded by modern taxonomy (for example the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) as members of the family Melanthiaceae. family of flowering perennial herbs in the Northern Hemisphere. The family has been recognized by relatively few taxonomists, and the circumscription has varied. Many authors have considered these plants to belong to the family Liliaceae, in part because both their sepals and petals closely resemble each other and are often large and showy like the flowers of the Lily Family.' End quote. SO....NO making of tea with this plant.
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Plant location: Mt. Evans Colorado, July 20, 2008.Plant -
Bloom season: June to August. Habitat, foothills to alpine zones.Foliage -
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