The Beautiful, but Deadly, Nuttall's Death-camus

Toxicoscordion nuttallii

I had the opportunity to venture out to the Konza Prairie this past weekend to look for wildflowers, and the most numerous was the Nuttall’s Death-camus. As its name suggests, all parts of the plant are toxic to plants and livestock. It is a bulb that resembles an onion a bit, which is what might create problems. It is also called a death onion.

The Death-camus is one of the first plants to sprout in the spring. It apparently blooms in May and June, but these may have gotten an early start due to the sporadic unseasonably warm weather this spring. It is a prairie flower found across the grasslands of North America.

There is one species that seeks it out, the moth Eupithecia zygadeniata. The larvae eat the flowers, and scientists believe this helps control the plant’s spread.

It’s a beautiful flower, and seeing numerous flowers blooming across the prairie was quite stunning. Knowing what it is, now, I will be giving it a wide berth.

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