pun’hwe’num’ – is the term we use in Stz’uminus for the month of May. This is named for speenhw “blue camas” [Camassia leichtlinii (Baker) S. Wats. and/or C. quamash (Pursh) Green. Some Elders say tum’peenhw – tum’ – time of camas, or tum’pe’un’hw – time of getting camus. This was an important starch food for our people. It was gathered from island bluffs and high fields and baked, steamed or roasted. It has a sweet taste similar to marshmallows. There were strict rules about who could harvest where and when. And our ladies tended the camas plots to make sure that they thrived. The dried camas would be put away in the winter box and used in soups during the winter time, along with wild onions, and wapato.
Roxanne Seymour from shtsum’inus on camas
Featured Plant
qwa’pulhp | Devil’s Club
Devil’s club is a thick-stemmed, deciduous shrub growing from 1-3 m (ca. 3-9 ft) tall. The stems are armed with numerous spines, which also occur on the lower surfaces of the large, maple-leaf shaped leaves. The small, whitish flowers produce clusters of bright red, slightly flattened berries. This species is found in moist woods, often in wet sites such as along streams, at low to middle elevations along the entire Pacific Northwest Coast.
Devil’s club is the source of a medicine said to be good for “whatever ails you.” It is sometimes combined with other plants for medicine, such as red alder, black raspberry and Indian consumption plant.