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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
ABBREVIATION :
ZIGVEN
SYNONYMS :
Zygadenus venenosus Wats.
Zigadenus gramineus Rybd.
Zygadenus gramineus Rybd.
SCS PLANT CODE :
ZIVE
ZIVEG
COMMON NAMES :
deathcamas
grassy deathcamas
meadow grasscamas
alkali grass
deadly zygadene
hog potatoes
lobelia
mystery-grass
poison-sego
soap plant
squirrel food
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of deathcamas is Zigadenus
venenosus Wats. (Liliaceae) [2,8,20]. Recognized varieties are as
follows:
Z. v. var. gramineus (Rydb.) Walsh ex M. E. Peck (grassy
deathcamas) [8,20]
Z. v. var. venenosus (meadow deathcamas) [8,20].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Janet L. Howard, May 1992
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Howard, Janet L. 1992. Zigadenus venenosus. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Deathcamas is distributed in North America from British Columbia to
Saskatchewan and south to Colorado, Utah, California, and Baja
California [2,17]. Grassy deathcamas is absent from California [3].
Meadow deathcamas does not occur east of the Continental Divide [21].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
STATES :
CA CO ID MT NE NV ND OR SD UT
WA WY AB BC SK MEXICO
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
BLCA COLM FOBU GLAC GRTE JECA
KICA LAVO MORA OLYM PINN SAJH
SEQU THRO WHIS WICA YELL YOSE
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir - hemlock forest
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K007 Red fir forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K009 Pine - cypress forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K025 Alder - ash forest
K026 Oregon oakwoods
K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K035 Coastal sagebrush
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
K048 California steppe
K049 Tule marshes
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K057 Galleta - threeawn shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
SAF COVER TYPES :
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
207 Red fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
212 Western larch
213 Grand fir
215 Western white pine
216 Blue spruce
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
221 Red alder
222 Black cottonwood - willow
223 Sitka spruce
224 Western hemlock
225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
228 Western redcedar
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
231 Port-Orford-cedar
232 Redwood
233 Oregon white oak
234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
237 Interior ponderosa pine
238 Western juniper
242 Mesquite
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
246 California black oak
247 Jeffrey pine
248 Knobcone pine
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak - Digger pine
255 California coast live oak
256 California mixed subalpine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Deathcamas is not listed as a dominant, codominant or indicator
species in published classifications.
Associated species of deathcamas include dwarf rose (Rosa gymnocarpa),
cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.), smallflower miterwort (Mitella
stauropetalia), largeleaf sandwort (Arenaria macrophylla), rush
pussytoes (Antennaria luzuloides), goldthread (Coptis occidentolis),
riceroot fritillary (Fritillaria lanceolata), and lambstongue fawnlily
(Erythronium grandiflorum) [7]. (also see SAF Cover Types)
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
The seeds, bulbs, leaves, and stems of deathcamas are poisonous to
livestock and wildlife, ranking in danger in the order listed [4,17].
Plants remain poisonous when dry [16,17]. Grassy deathcamas is the
more toxic of the two varieties [3]. This species is the most poisonous
within the death camasgenus, which is noted for the production of toxic
alkaloids [13]. Two pounds (0.9 kg) green weight of deathcamas per 100
pounds (45 kg) of animal weight is fatal. Sheep are most frequently
poisoned because of their tendency to select forbs while grazing. Fatal
poisonings are most common in lambs [16,17].
PALATABILITY :
The palatability of deathcamas is poor for all classes of livestock and
wildlife [4].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Deathcamas is rated as poor in energy and protein values [4].
COVER VALUE :
The cover value of deathcamas in Utah is poor for upland game birds,
waterfowl, small nongame birds, and small mammals [4].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
The Blackfeet Indians made a poultice from crushed deathcamas bulbs for
treating bruises and sprains [13].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Range: Livestock losses can be reduced by following good management
practices: (1) Keep animals off ranges infested with death camus until
adequate forage is available. Deathcamas appears early in the spring,
when leaves are highly toxic and there is little other forage. (2) Give
animals supplemental feed when necessary. Well-fed animals will usually
graze an infested range without injesting deathcamas. (3) Improve
range conditions by seeding with desirable grasses [16].
Deathcamas increases with overgrazing [12].
Control: Plants may be pulled from wet ground when small areas are
infested. If the ground is dry, the plant will break off at the stem,
leaving the bulb to eventually develop new leaves. Larger areas can be
90 percent controlled by using a 3-pound acid equivalent of 2,4-D ester
per acre (3.4 kg/ha) in early spring, when the plant is in the three- to
six-leaf stage. Chemical control is not effective after plants have
flowered [16,17,21].
Other: Humans have been poisoned by injestion of deathcamas bulbs
after mistaking them for edible wild onion (Allium spp.), Mariposa lily
(Calochortus spp.), or wild hyacinth (Brodiaea spp.) bulbs [17].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Deathcamas is a native, perennial, cool-season forb. It grows from 8
to 24 inches (20-61 cm) in height. Leaves are grasslike, and usually
shorter than the flower stalk. Flowers are borne on a terminal panicle.
The bulb, which is 0.5 to 1.5 inches (1.3-3.8 cm) in diameter, occurs
from 2 to 8 inches (5-20 cm) under ground. Roots are short and sparse.
The small seeds are contained in three-celled pods [13,16,17,]
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sexual: Deathcamas reproduces by seed [16,17]. Information concerning
regeneration is sparse. One source reports that seedling establishment
is poor in this species [16]. Deathcamas may require 2 to 3 years to
attain sexual maturity [10].
Asexual: Deathcamas reproduces vegetatively by bulb offsets [24].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
The two varieties of deathcamas differ somewhat in their site
requirements and are discussed separately.
Grassy deathcamas: This variety is found from 4,000 to 7,000 feet
(1,219-2,134 m) in elevation, in sandy- or gravelly-textured soils. It
occurs in scattered stands in sagebrush (Artemesia spp.) and various
open woodland communities [3].
Meadow deathcamas: This variety occurs from 1,400 to 8,000 feet
(427-2,438 m) in elevation. It grows in sandy-, loamy-, or
clayey-textured soils which may contain gravelly or rocky components.
It occurs in a variety of sites including moist to wet meadows, dry
rocky hillsides, and on flats. Best growth is attained on moist,
seeping sites [3,9].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Development of deathcamas varies with elevation and latitude. The
following development was reported in western Montana at 7,100 feet
(2,164 m) [15]:
growth starts: April - May
flowering begins: June
flowering over: June - July
plant dried: June - August
seed dissemination: August
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Deathcamas survives fires by regeneration from deep underground bulbs
[21].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Geophyte, growing points deep in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire top-kills deathcamas [7].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Fire research on this species is limited. It is known, however, that
geophytic lilies such as deathcamas stop producing new leaves once the
flower stalk is formed in early spring. Deathcamas, therefore, cannot
produce new growth at postfire year 1 except when fire occurs in very
early spring, before the flower stalk has developed. Experiments
performed on a closely related species, foothill deathcamas (Zigadenus
paniculatus), showed that plants were unable to produce a second crop of
leaves following defoliation [19]. Deathcamus will emerge again at
postfire year 2, but flowering may be delayed until postfire year 3.
Zigadenus spp. seedling survival is enhanced following fire due to
reduced competition [23]. Peak population density is reached 2 to 5
years following fire, and then declines preburn density [10].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Repeated annual burning from mid-spring to mid-summer greatly reduces or
eliminates deathcamas populations. Carbohydrates stored in the bulb
from the previous year are metabolized in early spring to produce new
leaves. Because yearly burning destroys the photosynthetic surface
responsible for new carbohydrate production, the plant may have
insufficient carbohydrate stores for next year's growth. The result is
plant death [19]. Fire at other seasons probably has little effect on
deathcamas.
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Zigadenus venenosus | Deathcamas
REFERENCES :
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
2. Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; Reveal, James
L. 1972. Intermountain flora: Vascular plants of the Intermountain West,
U.S.A. Vol. 1. New York: Hafner Publishing Company, Inc. 270 p. [717]
3. Dayton, William A. 1960. Notes on western range forbs: Equisetaceae
through Fumariaceae. Agric. Handb. 161. Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service. 254 p. [767]
4. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
7. Humphrey, Harry B.; Weaver, John Ernst. 1915. Natural reforestation in
the mountains of northern Idaho. Plant World. 18: 31-49. [12448]
8. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of
the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume
II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North
Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie
Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]
9. Kingsbury, John M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and
Canada. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 626 p. [122]
10. Kozlowski, T. T.; Ahlgren, C. E., eds. 1974. Fire and ecosystems. New
York: Academic Press. 542 p. [1374]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Lewis, James K.; Van Dyne, George M.; Albee, Leslie R.; Whetzal, Frank
W. 1956. Intensity of grazing: Its effect on livestock and forage
production. Bulletin 459. Brookings, SD: South Dakota State College,
Agricultural Experiment Station. 44 p. [11737]
13. Long, R. 1981. Some Liliaceae of British Columbia. Davidsonia. 12(4):
85-88. [10669]
14. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
15. Mueggler, Walter F. 1983. Variation in production and seasonal
development of mountain grasslands in western Montana. Research Paper
INT-316. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 16 p. [1710]
16. Pacific Northwest Extension Service. 1974. Death camas. PNW-104.
Corvallis, OR; Pullman, WA; Moscow, ID. [6899]
17. Panter, K. E.; James, L. F. 1989. Death Camas-early grazing can be
hazardous. Rangelands. 11(4): 147-149. [8053]
18. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
19. Tepedino, V.J. 1982. Effects of defoliation on reproduction of a toxic
range plant, Zigadenus paniculatus. Great Basin Naturalist. 42(4):
524-528. [2312]
20. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
21. Volland, Leonard A.; Dell, John D. 1981. Fire effects on Pacific
Northwest forest and range vegetation. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Range Management
and Aviation and Fire Management. 23 p. [2434]
22. Whitson, Thomas D. 1987. Weeds in Wyoming causing livestock poisoning.
In: Fisser, Herbert G., ed. Wyoming shrublands: Proceedings, 16th
Wyoming shrub ecology workshop; 1987 May 26-27; Sundance, WY. Laramie,
WY: University of Wyoming, Department of Range Management: 55-57.
[13922]
23. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States
and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620]
24. Kruckeberg, A. R. 1982. Gardening with native plants of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 252 p. [9980]
Index
Related categories for Species: Zigadenus venenosus
| Deathcamas
|
 |
