Toxicoscordion paniculatum

(Nutt.) S. Watson

Foothill deathcamas

Melanthiaceae Edible: Bulbs Some parts severely toxic — see hazards 4,831 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Toxicoscordion paniculatum is a species of flowering plant known by the common names foothill deathcamas, panicled death-camas, and sand-corn. It is widely distributed across much of the western United States, especially in the mountains and deserts of the Great Basin region west of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of habitats, including sagebrush plateau, grasslands, forests, and woodlands.

Description

Foothill deathcamas is a bulb plant in the Melanthiaceae family (also classified in Liliaceae) found in temperate regions.

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Edible Uses

The bulbs are cooked together with meat and corn and eaten.

Traditional Uses

The bulbs are cooked with meat and corn and eaten.

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Known Hazards

Toxicoscordion paniculatum is infamous for its poisonous qualities in the western United States. All parts of the plant are poisonous, people have even been poisoned by the flowers. However, the most poisonous part is the bulb. Humans that have mistaken the bulbs for those of wild onions or camas and eaten them have been fatally poisoned. In 2003 eight people who mistook the bulbs for that of the edible sego lily (Calochortus nuttallii) were poisoned in Juab County, Utah. Six of them seriously enough to require hospitalization. Horses and cattle tend to avoid the plant and are therefore less commonly poisoned than sheep. Animals are most often poisoned when in pastures containing foothill death camas early in the spring before other plants begin to green up.