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Liliaceae
Mission Bells
Fritillaria affinis
Woodland mystery and checkered beauty.
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Genus
- Fritillaria
- Native to
- western North America
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Type
- bulbous perennial
- Height
- 20–80 cm
- Sunlight
- part shade to full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, gritty, woodland soil
- Water
- moderate in spring; dry in summer
- Hardiness
- 5–9
- Lifespan
- perennial bulb; long-lived
Did you know
- The nodding, checkered bells come in an extraordinary range of dark colors — chocolate, mahogany, greenish-purple, and near-black.
- Native Americans roasted and ate the rice-like bulblets that cluster around the main bulb, calling them 'Indian rice'.
- The mottled pattern on the petals is caused by different layers of pigment reflecting light at different angles.
- It often grows alongside Pacific Coast wildflowers like trilliums and calypso orchids in mossy open woodlands.
- The genus name Fritillaria comes from Latin 'fritillus' (dice box), referring to the checkered petal pattern.
Color meanings
Brown
earth's hidden treasures
Purple
mottled majesty