Hello plant wizards! I'm hoping that someone can enlighten me as to whether the solitary, fleshy, lance-shaped leaves that I see growing under the snowberry bushes near Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park (Vernon, B.C.) are chocolate lilies that simply don't care to flower this year. I kept an eye on these leaves last year and no flowers appeared. They grow in bluebunch wheatgrass meadows under the encroaching snowberry bushes in association with flowering chocolate lilies (Fritillaria affinis) and spring beauty. This year I decided to dig up a sample to see the bulb, and the bulb appears to be identical to chocolate lily bulbs. However, Flora of BC doesn't mention single, lance-shaped leaves, but instead talks only of whorls of leaves on the main flower stem with scattered or alternate leaves above. It would be so nice to have a book that included seedlings! Has anyone grown chocolate lilies and observed single vegetative leaves in the years prior to flowering? Thanks so much, S. Runyan PS I have tried to attach photos, but will try again tomorrow if they didn't upload.
Yes, they do not produce the whorls until fully developed or nearly so. Sometimes you will see the stems with whorls turn out to be "blind", same as with lilies but otherwise the whorls are associated with maturity and flowering. If the solitary leaves are almost exactly the same as those in the whorls then it is a pretty safe bet they belong to the same species.
Thanks for your reply, Ron. The solitary leaves are shaped differently (though also fleshy and glabrous with a faint glaucous sheen) from the leaves on the flower stalks, and I can't find any reference regarding such leaves on chocolate lilies. I've moved one to my garden and hope to see for myself what it becomes. I imagine someone who has grown chocolate lilies from seed would know for sure! I'll try uploading the pictures again - it did work with time! Regarding the pictures: 1. Shows two "blind chocolate lilies" and a spring beauty 2. Confirmed chocolate lily with flower bud and leaf whorl and "blind chocolate lily" 3. Close-up of leaves from 2 4. Close-up of bulbs from 2
I would say they are likely the same. Maybe email Paul Slichter to confirm if he has seen these with only a single, larger leaf while young: chocolate lily
This is a common occurrence with plants in this family, I have seen the monophyllous mode on this species many times myself. Seedlings may grow with one leaf for years.
I'm quite proud of my Chocolate Lilies this year! I only had 3 blooms last season. Quite a difference! Here is a picture of the "mystery leaves" that I figured out were lily leaves. Also my lovely lilies!
Very cool!! Thanks for sharing your lovely photos of the northern chocolate lily! It's great to know that they have a single-leave mode as well, and the leaf does look quite different from the leaf on the flowering plant. Did you grow them from seed or transplant the "mystery leaves"? How many years did it take before they flowered?
About 8 years ago, I was walking around on my property and found a few chocolate lily blossoms in the tall grass at the edge of the property line. I figured no one would be able to see and enjoy them buried in the grass; so I dug up the bulbs and put them in a bed I had just made. There were maybe 2-3 large(r) bulbs and several tiny ones. There were probably the "baby leaves" attached to the tiny bulblets but I didn't notice. I kind of forgot about them as they didn't bloom for about 3 (or more) years. Last summer I had three blossoms and I harvested some seeds for trading. I read somewhere about being careful not to take too many seeds or bulbs to assure the original planted area will come back. [oops! I didn't know that 8 years ago and the spot I dug the originals from don't have any there now] I tried starting some seeds inside in early spring this year; but nothing happened. I also left some seeds on the plant to reseed. I found this website that has quite a bit of information. However, it refers to Fritillaria affinis and my lilies, I think, are Fritillaria camschatcensis. The info is probably relevant to all species of Fritillaria . It seems most all of the species have the common name "Chocolate Lily", too. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_fraf2.pdf Are the ones you have like mine or some other species? I have enjoyed experimenting with transplanting and seed germination. It is a native plant I want to propagate.
Thanks for the PDF on with information on propagation! I'll have to give it a try. I live in the north end on the Okangan valley and we have only F. affinis here, not F. camschatcensis, as you have. It's great that you've had such success!
