Fritillaria Meleagris

Day 176: Many bulbs benefit from being "lifted" every few years, and although Fritillaria meleagris does nicely when left alone, mine have responded well to being brought to the surface and divided. Also known as Chocolate Lily, Checkered Lily, Guinea-Hen Flower and several other names, this plant has its origin in Eurasia. A related species (F. affinis) is native to western Washington. Mine are the European species, and were commercially grown. They currently occupy a outsized flower pot in the company of Snowflakes. Snowflakes will bloom concurrently or shortly after the Fritillaries. Snowflakes also benefit from lifting, although neither species requires it. Lifting and dividing is best done in autumn after the foliage has died back.

Chocolate Lily

Day 241: A close cousin of Washington's native Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria affinis) can often be found in garden stores, usually marketed as Fritillary Lily (Fritillaria meleagris). At least in the cultivated plants in my own garden, the checkered pattern is more obvious than it is in the native species as well as being more strongly defined. The green and brown flecking make the native difficult to observe when it's mixed in with other vegetation, so when Team Biota stopped at a roadside pullout to check for rarities on the cliff face, all three of us walked right past several specimens and didn't notice the first one until we were standing in the ditch and they were at eye-level. A quick survey 100 feet east and west yielded up at least three dozen, but subsequent stops along the same roadway failted to turn up any more. Why that one spot? Why only beside the road? Is it possible they were transported there unintentionally or intentionally? The question becomes important because this is one of several instances of discrete areas where one particular plant exists in isolation beside this roadway. It is a question I will be directing to our Plant Ecologist for further analysis.