Definition of "camas" []

• Any of several plants of the genus Camassia in the lily family, especially C. quamash of western North America, having grasslike leaves, a raceme of blue flowers, and a bulb that was an important food for various Native American peoples. Also called quamash. (noun)
• Death camas. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "There is a poisonous camas, which is sometimes mistaken for the genuine root, but which cannot be eaten in large quantities without fatal results."
• "The camas is a small round root, not unlike an onion in appearance."
• "The root which the Indians used in so many ways is now known as camas; it is still much sought for by the Nez Percés and other wandering tribes in the Northwest, and Camas Prairie, in that region, derives its name from the much-sought-for vegetable."