White Camas / Anticlea elegans, formerly Zigadenus elegans

Macro shot of a small, individual flower of the White Camas, taken NW of the city on 21 July 2012. Several of these Lily-like flowers grow on a tall stem.

"White camas (Anticlea elegans) is a native perennial herb that grows from a bulb. The plant can be found across most of Canada from British Columbia to New Brunswick and in parts of northwestern Canada. The plant contains several steroidal alkaloids, including zygacine, which can poison livestock and humans. White camas has caused poisoning in sheep and may have been involved in poisoning cattle. Ingesting the bulbs can also cause poisoning. This plant is considered to be about seven times less toxic that death camas (Zigadenus venenosus)."

"It is not a grass (though its leaves are grass-like), but belongs to the trillium family, Melanthiaceae. It has white lily-like flowers and two-pronged, greenish-yellow glands on each petal (the shape of which can help in distinguishing it from other members of the genus)." From Wikipedia.