Chocolate Lily
Fritillaria affinis
Nodding, mottled brown-and-green bells dangle over grassy meadows in spring, then vanish by summer. A subtle, intriguing native lily of bluffs and oak woodlands. The starchy bulb and its rice-like bulblets were a staple food for some tribes, cooked to a delicate, faintly bitter texture.
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 0.5–2 ft
- Spacing
- 0.5–1 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- neutral
- Bloom
- February, March, April, May, June
- Bloom colors
- green, brown
- Wildlife value
- pollinators
- Landscape uses
- border, container
- Native states
- CA, ID, OR, WA