Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum)

Whistling Pass, Banff N.P., Alberta, Canada 7/2011.

Glacier Lilies, Buttercups and Spring Beauty immediately follow the receding snow in the early spring high country.  Native Americans used the bulbs and seed pods, boiled or dried, and the raw leaves as a food source.  This also true for its close relative, the avalanche lily.

Banff N.P., Alberta, Canada 7/2011.