88. Chocolate Lily

Only one year did the Chocolate Lilies or Fritillaria affinis (formerly F. lanceolata) cover patches of the meadow as thickly as the first photograph shows. Usually they are in groups of two or three, just waiting for someone to discover their quiet, dark elegance in amongst the riot of colour that the rest of the spring flowers explode in. If we had fields annually I'd be tempted to try a very small sampling of the bulblets that are reported to be tender and delicate and somewhat like rice...only a bit bitter.