Fritillaria thunbergii

I've read that this plant is cultivated as a field crop in China for use in traditional medications.

Although the flowers are small for the genus and the color not at all exciting, the plant has a nice poise and grows vigorously and reliably in our gardens -and that's something which cannot be said for too many Fritillaria.

The plants in the image above arrived here in 2003 under the name Fritillaria involucrata.