Kamchatka Lily Seeds (Fritillaria camschatcensis)

Kamchatka lily is one of the more enigmatic wildflowers of the northern Pacific coast – a plant of foggy mornings, damp coastal grounds, bears, ancient life ways. 

Distributed in scattered populations arching from northern Japan, far eastern Russia, Alaska, and southward to Washington and Oregon, it hugs the coast, occurring in wet clearings, sometimes just a few feet above the high tide mark. 

Sometimes called rice-root for the clusters of small white bulblets that form around the primary, scaly bulb, these root offshoots were a historic food for native gardeners who tended this plant in coastal estuaries (sometimes constructing well engineered earth work embankments to expand the growing zone for the plant near the waterline). 

Kamchatka lily is sublime with its dark, hanging, sometimes mottled brown-black-purple flowers, reaching up to a bit under two feet in height (but usually much shorter), with whorls of deeply veined leaves along the main stem. This is mostly a fly-pollinated plant, smelling a bit like decaying flesh, and a plant that is exceedingly uncommon south of British Columbia where many of its historic habitats have been degraded. 

For all of its specialization, Kamchatka lily is relatively easy to grow, but slow to mature. Seeds are best cold-wet stratified (fall planted when direct sowing), emerging as tiny single-blade leaflets in spring which last only a few weeks. The plant repeats this growth pattern for a number of years before it reaches a mature, flowering size.

Kamchatka lily prefers cool locations with sun or only partial shade, and lots of moisture. Heavy clay, and salt water intrusion are fine for this plant. Often co-occurs with arctic butterbur, various sedges, and Pacific crabapple. Mysterious, and we think the most beautiful member of the genus. 

Approximately 50 seeds (0.1 grams)