Death camas is prevalent throughout North America and is frequently the source of poisoning for outdoor enthusiasts and livestock due to its resemblance to other edible plants such as the wild onion.

Symptoms in humans include nausea, vomiting, slowed heart rate, low blood pressure and ataxia.

[2] Poisoned animals suffer from loss of appetite, lack of coordination, digestive and excretory disorders, labored breathing, racing heartbeat and frequently death.

[7] It has been for many years - and continues to be - responsible for the poisonings and deaths of many types of livestock including sheep, cattle, horses, pigs and fowl.

[10] Poisonings generally occur in the early spring when the death camas plant is most abundant and other food sources for livestock are limited.

In 1994, a man presented to the emergency department with gastrointestinal symptoms, a depressed heart rate and low blood pressure after inadvertently eating plant material derived from a species of Zigadenus.

General symptoms of zygacine poisoning among humans and animals alike include but are not limited to gastrointestinal and cardiovascular ailments such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and irregular heartbeat.

[12] Within an hour of ingesting the toxic death camas plant, a human will begin to experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and diarrhea.

[2] Intestinal peristalsis, a condition characterized by involuntary movement of the muscles in the digestive tract, results in frequent defecation and urination.