Flower:

The erect flower stalk sometimes forms a single raceme but is more often a branched panicle up to a foot long, of 1-50 creamy white, star-like stalked flowers about ½ inch across. The 6 tepals (petals) are egg shaped, with a thick greenish yellow heart-shaped gland above the base creating a ring around the lighter or green tipped center. The cone-like style in the middle is split into three narrow arching stigmas, surrounded by 6 arching stamens with green to orange tips. Flower stalks up to 1 inch long are accompanied by a short lance shaped papery bract at the base that is often tinged with purple or pink.

Leaves and stems:

Leaves are mostly basal, slender and grass-like, 4 to 12 inches long, ¼ to ½ inch wide, with smooth edges, faint parallel lines, and a keeled midrib on the underside.

The few stem leaves are much shorter, clasping to sheathing, and typically folded lengthwise. The stem and leaves are rigid and hairless, often bluish green from a white waxy coating (glaucous).

Fruit:

Fruit is a 3-parted, oval shaped cone 1/3 to ¾ inch long, often wrapped at the base by the persistent dried tepals.

Notes:

All parts of the Mountain Death Camas plant are poisonous from alkaloids more toxic than strychnine and can sicken livestock. Plants over-winter as a bulb that is very similar to the wild onion and a few settlers learned of its toxicity the hard way. Alkaloid poisoning is a terrible way to die! Formerly known as Anticlea elegans, Zigadenus elegans has recently moved from the Liliaceae (Lily) family to Melanthiaceae (Trillium). Some references list multiple varieties, with var. glaucus in Minnesota, but Flora of North America, our definitive guide, makes no distinction.