Yellow Bells (Fritillaria pudica)

Seven-mile Hill, Columbia Gorge, OR, 2/2015.

According to Ronald Taylor’s Sagebrush Country, the Latin fritillaria comes from fritill, which is Latin for “dice box”, which the fruits of this flower, and its relative the Checker Lily, are said to resemble. We have no idea what a dice box looks like (no help from google), but we’ll take his word for it, and for the translation of pudica, which he says means “ashamed or bashful”, due to the flower’s nodding posture. Another reference claims these grow at all elevations, although we didn’t find them til we were nearly at the top of Coyote Wall. Definitely worth the climb!

Coyote Wall Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 3/2014.

According to Arthur Kruckeberg, “Bulb fanciers the world over worship at the feet of this captivating clan of lily-like plants. Species of Old World fritillaries have been grown in gardens for years, much as have species of tulips.” Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest (1982).