''Toxicoscordion brevibracteatum'' (syn. ''Zigadenus brevibracteatus'') is a species of flowering plant known by the common name desert deathcamas. It is native to

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it grows in sandy desert habitat among

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types w ...

and Joshua trees. ''Toxicoscordion brevibracteatum'' is a perennial wildflower growing from a brown or black

bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

up to 4 centimeters long. The stem grows up to 50 or 60 centimeters long. The leaves are linear in shape, measuring up to 30 centimeters long by one wide. Most of the leaves are at the base of the stem and there may be a few reduced leaves above. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is an open

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

of flowers at the tips of branches. The flowers are male or bisexual, with six cream-colored

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. The fruit is a capsule 1 or 2 centimeters long.Flora of North America
/ref> Like other members of ''Toxicoscordion, T. brevibracteatum'' contains Veratrum alkaloids. This can make it hazardous and potentially lethal to livestock, particularly in the early spring or late winter when other browsing options are sparse.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Toxicoscordion brevibracteatum'' (Desert death camas) Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Toxicoscordion brevibracteatum''UC Photos gallery — ''Toxicoscordion brevibracteatum''
brevibracteatum Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of Sonora Flora of the California desert regions Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants described in 1908 {{Liliales-stub