The rare and wonderful Wocus

When I first learned about the wocus flower that blooms in the wetlands of Upper Klamath Lake, it was from a kayaker who brought back this beautiful plant from a morning out on the water. It was offered as a gift to the owner of Rocky Point Resort, where I was working at the time. New to the area, I was enthralled by this specimen which I’d never seen before. The two women explained to me that the wocus is a sacred, special plant, and they were right.

The Klamath Basin Native Plant Society regards the Wocus as a key element in the ecology of Upper Klamath and Agency lakes. Scientists believe wocus and other wetland plants play an important role in habitat for endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake. Wocus is also a traditional source of food for the Klamath Tribes. In fact, the name Wocus is derived from the Klamath-Modoc word for the plant’s seeds-wokas.

An article found on eattheweeds.com explains, “…the seed pods were gathered and the seeds popped like miniature popcorn, or dried and stored, or ground into flour. They were also used to make gruel and thicken soup. Tens of thousands of acres of wokas were harvested by the Klamath, and presumably other tribes as well.” However, with the conversion of the fertile wetlands for agriculture, the wocus began to disappear. As the wetlands were drained, the lilypads vanished, and the tribes lost a valuable resource. Currently, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Trout Unlimited, and the Klamath Tribes are working to restore wocus in Upper Klamath Lake. 

Although the quantities of this very special plant have diminished over time, it is still possible to view a large amount of the blooms up close and personal while paddling along the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Sign up for our morning or afternoon Kayak Adventure tour to see this beautiful plant species with your own eyes.

Wocus flower in bloom on Upper Klamath Lake