Chocolate Lily

Here's another favourite spring wildflower - the Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria affinis), sometimes known as Rice-root because of the many small swellings on the roots that look like grains of rice. I also saw a few of these blooming on my recent trip to Bear Hill but no matter where I see them, I seldom see more than two or three together. For a couple of years I knew of only one plant of this species that grew near the summit of Mount Douglas so I am happy to have located others.