In late spring we come across chocolate lilies in meadows, glades and on lightly shaded slopes in the hills of our area. A little later, we find them in subalpine locations. This is one of the highlights of the wildflower season for us.

• Fritillaria affinis/fritillaria lanceolata is a perennial which grows up 20 to 80 cm tall.
• The plant grows from small scaly bulbs and bulblets.
• It is also called checker lily.
• The plant is quite variable, but it usually has unbranched stems with one or two whorls of 3-4 leaves.
• The flowers are bell-shaped and nodding. One to five flowers per plant.
• Colours range from brown to purple with some yellow or green mottling (in our area).
• All photos taken by the author. Click an image for a caption (location and month) and for a larger (lightbox) view.

• Numerous small flattened seeds form in capsules after flowering, becoming more erect as they mature.
• Chocolate lilies have a pungent unpleasant odor which attracts pollinator flies.
• Some First Nations people dug up the roots and ate them boiled or cooked hem in pits.
• Bulblets form around the main bulb, helping it to propagate (vegetatively).
• A related species less common in our area is fritillaria camschatcensis (or Northern rice-root, black lily, riceroot fritillary, etc.)

We know a few “go-to” locations to spot chocolate lilies each year – Lac du Bois Grasslands Conservancy, Neskonlith Meadows, Embleton Mountain, Lac le Jeune area, Robbins Range, Lundbom Commonage, and a few other locations, where we hike, but stop to admire the lilies.