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Anticlea elegans

Mountain Death Camas

Family MelanthiaceaeGenus Anticlea

Also published as Zigadenus elegans. You are in the right place.

Greenish-white star-shaped flowers up a stem, each petal with a green gland at its base
FlowerJacob W. Frank, US National Park ServicePublic domain
A stand of slender stems carrying many greenish-white star-shaped flowers
The whole plantSalicynaCC BY-SA 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Safety

Toxicity
Poisonous to all. All, bulbs, leaves, flowers, pollen. Zygacine. Stated for Zigadenus spp.Plants Poisonous to Livestock

The plant

Habit
bulbous geophytePlants of the World Online
Flower
WhiteWikipedia
Native range
Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributors; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility; Plants Poisonous to Livestock — Cornell University Department of Animal Science.

Worth knowing

  • Also called mountain deathcamas. It may be toxic, as its relatives Toxicoscordion venenosum and T. paniculatum have been shown to be. Wikipedia: Anticlea elegans

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 21, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: either

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 15 days to germinate.

100% germination in 11–15 days.

Every seed in a fortnight at 70, light or dark.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, ZigadenusPublic domain
Show the original text
Zigadenus (Liliaceae). Z. elegans germ. 70(100% in 11-15 d) and 40(100% in 6-8 w). Light had no effect.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Zigadenus. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around February 8, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Temperature: 40°F 4°C Light: either

    100%, over 6-8 weeks -- it germinates in the cold.

Germination happens during step 1, in 56 days.

100% germination in 42–56 days.

Cold gets every seed too, and takes six weeks longer.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, ZigadenusPublic domain
Show the original text
Zigadenus (Liliaceae). Z. elegans germ. 70(100% in 11-15 d) and 40(100% in 6-8 w). Light had no effect.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Zigadenus. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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