Katie Byerly of Cerro Gordo County is also known as Iowa Prairie Girl on YouTube.
There are two ways a person could start an article about Mountain Death Camas (Zigadenus elegans). One introduction could include words like dangerous, poisonous, and fatal! And the other would involve words like striking, stunning, and uniquely beautiful. Let’s start with the beautiful part first.
THE BEAUTY
The flowers of Death camas have six papery white petals (or in the case of Death camas – tepals). The striking star-shaped flowers are about a 1/2-inch across. Each petal has an olive green, heart-shaped gland near its base. When the flower opens, these glands present as a lovely circle on the flower, often with an inner yellow fringe.