I have rescued native plants from roadsides, construction sites, drainage ditches... These camas plants were the last camas bulbs not planted by humans that I had seen in my little town, growing in a small field just east of Palouse, about a block away from me. I loved seeing a camas flower or two show up every May for years in this particular spot. The owner had told me that I was welcome to dig any plants that I wanted, and I had gotten a few cinquefoil plants a long time ago, but I left the camas unmolested. For several years, the owner let someone overgraze their horses on it, so that it became a patch of dirt, mostly, and for about three years afterwards no camas bloomed. Then, four years ago, one camas came up in that spot and I thought--I'd better mark this and try to get the bulb. So I did, and I planted it in my camas patch, hoping for the best. Two plants came up! But, no flowers until this year. The lot has since been sold to a person who thought it would be a great idea to build an apartment complex there--fortunately the community came together and made sure that didn't happen, but it is only a matter of time now before they build a house or something there, so I am very happy to have saved these jewels.
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