Wild Hyacinth, Camassia scilloides, or Eastern Camas is a member of the lily family and has been a staple food source to many American Indians. It has typically been confused with its western cousins, C. quamash or C. esculenta, but it is believed to be just as edible.  The onion-like bulbs can be harvested all year. They were either boiled for 20-30 minutes or baked in a pit lined with hot stones. Some American Indians even preserved it for winter use.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Wild Hyacinth Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon & Alfred Charles Kinsey. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. pg. 133

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 134-135

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 332-333

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 136-137

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.