Yellow fritillary, or yellow bell, is native to western North America (distribution map and Flora of North America account). The epithet pudica means “bashful”, which I tried to illustrate with the close-up photograph. As you can see from the second image, the plant is quite small. Despite the size, the diminutive bulbs of these plants were commonly harvested by the First Nations peoples of the area for food.

For local readers, Café Scientifique Vancouver's discussion topic tomorrow evening is “Why Conserve Endangered Species?” with Dr. Arne Mooers from Simon Fraser University. What is Café Scientifique? “Café Scientifique is where you can have a drink and learn about the latest ideas and issues in science and technology in an informal setting. It’s not a lecture! It’s a place for group discussion and audience involvement is the most important ingredient.” (via Café Scientifique Canada).

Botany resource link: Tropical Plant Guides from Chicago's Field Museum is absolutely spectacular if you need to identify tropical plants – features six thousand quality plant photographs and twenty thousand herbarium specimen scans.