Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria affins)

The chocolate lily, also known as checker lily or rice root, is a unique member of Lily (Liliaceae) family that grows throughout western North America between B.C and the northern Sierra foothills and inland to Montana and Idaho. This unique monocot grows in dry, shaded pine and oak forests but can occasionally be found in thickets in the coast range. Like most members in the Lily family, it grows from a bulb that stores energy throughout the growing season and goes dormant in the fall, winter, and late summer. When the snow melts and temperatures become consistently warm in the spring, it pushes out its unmistakable inflorescence. The flowers are nodding, mottled with green, yellow and purple, but the coloring is highly variable depending on population and region. Traditionally, the scaly, rice like bulblets were steamed and eaten by several northwest tribes including the Salish, Squamish, Sechelt, Halq'emeylem and Straits Salish. This population of Chocolate lily was found at the Memaloose state park and Catherine Creek Arch in the Columbia River Gorge.