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Camassia cusickii

S. Wats.

Cusick's Camassia

G3Vulnerable Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.159062
Element CodePMLIL0E010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderAsparagales
FamilyAsparagaceae
GenusCamassia
Other Common Names
Cusick's Camas (EN) Cusick's camas (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-07-09
Change Date2024-07-09
Edition Date2024-07-09
Edition AuthorsGRIES, D, rev. N Ventrella (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank Reasons
Camassia cusickii is a perennial herb that occurs on hillsides, open meadows, rocky slopes, basalt cliffs, and along wet seeps in full sun in western North America in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Approximately 29 occurrences are known, which are threatened by grazing, horticultural collecting, road construction, development, and invasive species. All occurrences need to be monitored to determine the status of threats, site condition, and abundance of plants, and potential habitat should be surveyed to identify new populations.
Range Extent Comments
Camassia cusickii occurs in western North America, on the south and east flanks of the Wallowa Mountains of Baker and Wallowa counties, Oregon, and Adams and Washington counties, Idaho (Meinke 1982). This species also occurs in Klickitat County, Washington (CPNWH 2024). Range extent was estimated to be 65,000 square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (CPNWH 2024, GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are 29 occurrences rangewide (CPNWH 2024, GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Threats to this species are not well understood: scope, severity, and timing of threats to Camassia cusickii are unknown. Camassia cusickii is threatened in parts of its range by grazing, horticultural collecting (Meinke 1982) and road construction (Rosentreter 1986). Potential threats also include development, invasive species, and other threats in some places.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Camassia cusickii occurs on hillsides (FNA 2002), and in Oregon in "open meadows, gentle to steep rocky slopes and basalt cliffs, full sun along wet seeps" (Meyers et al. 2015).
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceousCliff
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
OregonS3Yes
IdahoS2Yes
WashingtonS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.3 - Livestock farming & ranchingUnknownUnknownUnknown
2.3.4 - Scale unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownModerate - slightUnknown
4.1 - Roads & railroadsUnknownModerate - slightUnknown
5 - Biological resource useUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.2 - Gathering terrestrial plantsUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (2)
Oregon (2)
AreaForestAcres
HomesteadWallowa-Whitman National Forest5,817
Lake ForkWallowa-Whitman National Forest21,936
References (9)
  1. Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria (CPNWH). 2024. Online database of vascular plant specimens from the Pacific Northwest. Online. Available: http://www.pnwherbaria.org/index.php (accessed 2024).
  2. <div>Meyers, S.C., T. Jaster, K. E. Mitchell, and L.K. Hardison, editors. 2015. Flora of Oregon. Volume 1: Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, and Monocots. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, TX. 608 pp.</div>
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 26. Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxvi + 723 pp.
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  5. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  6. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  7. Meinke, R.J. 1982. Threatened and Endangered Vascular Plants of Oregon: An Illustrated Guide. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon. 326 pp.
  8. Rosentreter, R. 1986. Sensitive and uncommon plants in the Boise District Bureau of Land Management. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office, Technical Bull., Boise, ID. 87 pp.
  9. Steele, B., F. Johnson, and S. Brunsfeld, eds. 1981. Vascular plant species of concern in Idaho. Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station, Moscow, ID. 161 pp.