variant forms of QUAMASH (Camassia esculenta), a liliaceous plant, whose bulbs are eaten by North American Indians.
1837. W. Irving, Capt. Bonneville, II. 221. They [Indians] come to it in the summer time to dig the camash root.
1884. Joaquin Miller, Memorie & Rime, 83. This was the camas blossom. This flower sweeps over and purples all Oregon in the early spring.
Hence Camas rat (see quot.).
1865. J. G. Wood, Homes without H., i. 35. The Camas Rat (Pseudostoma borealis)…. The name … is derived from its food, which consists chiefly of quamash root.
