Toxicoscordion paniculatum

Foothill deathcamas

Family: Melanthiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Foothill deathcamas is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, northern Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, and Great Basin regions in dry sagebrush scrub to conifer forest at elevations of 1,200 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces white flowers in a distinctive panicle inflorescence 10 to 30 centimeters long with spreading branches. Growing with slender stems 20 to 70 centimeters tall, it emerges from a dark brown to black ovoid bulb 30 to 50 millimeters in size. Its leaves are long and narrow, reaching 20 to 50 centimeters in length with rough, ciliate margins measuring 6 to 16 millimeters wide. The plant produces cylindrical fruits 8 to 20 millimeters long, characteristic of this delicate but potentially toxic lily relative.

Habitat: dry sagebrush scrub to conifer forest

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1200-2300 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, n SNH, GB

California counties: Lassen, Butte, Plumas, Colusa, Nevada, Shasta, Yuba, Modoc, Siskiyou, Mono, Mariposa, Tehama, Sierra, Alpine, Mendocino, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.