• Address: Anchorage, AK 99515 (map)
• Date Posted: 10/24/09

Chocolate lilies are hardy perennials. Like all lilies, they grow from a bulb. Late fall is a great time to plant these bulbs so you can enjoy the beautiful but unusual flower next year.

This lily, Fritillaria camschatcensis, is most commonly known as chocolate lily due to it’s brown flowers (flower color varies from light brown to dark brown but may also have some green coloration). It has several other common names; Black Sarana, Indian Rice, Rice lily, Kamchatka lily, and Kamchatka fritillary. The flowers do not smell like chocolate. The flowers have a somewhat unpleasant fragrance although it not particularly noticeable unless there are numerous flowers in bloom simultaneously. Furthermore, the uniqueness of the plant and it’s attractive flowers far outweigh the fragrance of the flower.

Chocolate lilies are native from coastal areas in south central Alaska and the Aleutian Chain south through coastal British Columbia to southwestern Washington/northwestern Oregon. They are relatively rare in the Pacific Northwest due, in part, to increased population and development. It’s natural habitat is moist open meadows in both coastal areas and in alpine meadows. Prefers moist, but well-drained humus soil.

Chocolate lilies are fairly long-lived perennials and if their growing environment is good, they bloom every year. The mature plant is 8-24 in. tall and can have anywhere from 1 to 14 blossoms per plant but 1 to 4 blossoms are fairly typical.