There are about 20 species of Fritillaria in western North America. Although they occur in Canada and 16 different states in the United States, the majority of them are found in California.
Fritillaria affinis (syn. F. lanceolata) is native to a very wide range on the Pacific coast of North America, from near sea level to near timberline in the mountains, and is quite variable. Easily grown in temperate gardens, it needs to be kept a little moist and cool in summer to flourish but also requires excellent drainage. The photos show a pale yellow-green form grown from seed collected in the wild in California (a similar form is sold under the clonal name 'Limelight'); and a very large, square-floweredtriploid, sterile form from Point Reyes, California, found by Wayne Roderick and now widely grown, named for him. Another Point Reyes triploid has been called var. tristulis; it is shorter than 'Wayne Roderick'. First two photos by Jane McGary, last photo by Nhu Nguyen.
The first two pictures below were taken in Sonoma County where they were growing on a shady bank along side a road. The last picture shows flowers grown from seed and blooming March 2005. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Fritillaria agrestis (syn. F. biflora ssp. agrestis) is native to the Coast Ranges and western Sacramento Valley of California, where it is classified as threatened. The photo shows fairly light color forms; it can be much darker. It is distinguished by its very foul scent. Photo by Jane McGary
The three photos below show some different color forms. Photos taken in situ just east of Livermore, Ca. March 2008. Photos by Mary Gerritsen.
Fritillaria biflora is native to the coastal ranges of California where it grows in sunny grassy areas with heavy soils. It has chocolate brown flowers. In spite of its name, it can have 1 to 5 flowers although this picture taken by Mary Sue Ittner shows a bulb flowering in February 2004 in Northern California with the expected two flowers.
Pictures taken April 2005 at Figueroa Mountain (Santa Barbara county, California) by Mary Sue Ittner
Fritillaria biflora / F. purdyi hybrids. The illustrated plants are probably bee-made hybrids between F. biflora and F. purdyi, occurring among seedlings raised from garden-collected seeds of these two species. Possible purdyi x biflora (purdyi being the seed parent) is a very robust plant, flowering earlier than pure purdyi, with 10 flowers showing typical purdyi form and markings but with a green rather than white ground color. Possible biflora x purdyi, two of five flowering seedlings, are smaller at first flowering but otherwise similar to the first hybrid. All the hybrids have more glaucous leaves than F. biflora, a purdyi characteristic. Photos by Jane McGary
Fritillaria eastwoodiae is native to Northern California, where it is found growing in deciduous and coniferous forests in heavy soils, sometimes serpentine. This one was grown and photographed by Dirk Wallace.
Fritillaria falcata, commonly known as the talus fritillary, is a species endemic to the serpentine scree slopes of the mountains in and around the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It grows a short stem about 10 to 20 centimeters tall surrounded by two to six flat, sickle-shaped leaves up to about 8 centimeters in length. The upward facing flower has six tepals one to two centimeters long which are greenish on the outside and yellow mottled with purple-brown inside. Photos taken by Mary Gerritsen in situ on a serpentine ridge south of Livermore, CA. April 5, 2008.
Fritillaria liliacea is native to coastal areas of Northern California (mostly San Francisco Bay Area) where it grows in clay soils in full sun. It has small white to pale greenish yellow flowers and is known for its fragrance although I can't detect it in my seed grown plants. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
The pictures below were taken at Jepson Prairie, California by Bob Werra Spring 2005.
Fritillaria ojaiensis is a rare plant restricted to shady rocky slopes and river basins in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. Once considered a variant of Fritillaria affinis , it now has species status. It blooms in spring. Flowers are nodding, green to greenish yellow with dark purple-brown spots on the tepals. Photo by John Lonsdale.
Fritillaria pluriflora known as the Adobe Lily grows in dense clay in some inland valleys of the Northern Coast ranges of California. It is also found in a few spots in north central Sierra Nevada foothills. It is considered rare because of habitat degradation, cattle grazing, and horticultural collecting. It has bowl-shaped pink flowers. Photos below from Bob Werra including a white form he saw in Bear Valley, California, an area where this species blooms some years in mass in March.
Photos below are also from Bear Valley, March 2008. This past winter was wetter than the last few and as a result, the floral display was awesome! Both the typical pink form and the more unusual white form are shown. The third photo gives you an idea of the plurality of the bloom. Photos by Mary Gerritsen
Fritillaria pudica comes from western North America, where it is widespread, especially in the Pacific Northwest, growing in areas that are fairly cold and rather dry in winter, and very hot and dry in summer, usually on slopes where there is plenty of moisture during its growth period in spring. It flowers quite early. The illustrated plant was grown from seed collected near the John Day River in north centeral Oregon and is an especially robust form. Photos by Jane McGary and John Lonsdale.
Fritillaria purdyi This is a northern California species often found growing in serpentine ridges in chaparral and grasslands where it has little competition. It is rare. The first photo was taken by Arnold Trachtenberg and the second by Paul Tyerman who writes: “This is a closeup of the same species. This shows the almost crystalline edging to the flowers, which make them appear to have been dipped in ice. This seems to be a slightly different colour form to Arnold's.” The third photo was taken by Mary Gerritsen of a population found on top of a serpentine ridge, about 20 miles north of Lake Berryesa, California
The plants shown are about 12 years old (from wild-collected seed) and are grown in a bulb frame in Oregon. Unlike many related species among the California frits, F. purdyi increases very slowly. These plants are the stock from which the likely hybrids mentioned above were raised. Photo by Jane McGary
Fritillaria recurva is found in southwest Oregon from Douglas County south into Caifornia. It is distinguished from other Fritillaria species by its scarlet red color, checkered with yellow on the inside, and recurved tepals. The photos by Mary Gerritsen are from plants found in northern Napa county growing along the roadbanks. Photo taken in late March, 2008.
Fritillaria roderickii is a disputed name for a plant that is also sometimes referred to as Fritillaria grayana and was sunk in the Jepson Manual into Fritillaria biflora var. biflora. This plant is still known as Fritillaria roderickii by the state of California where it is listed as endangered and was last found in Mendocino County. The coastal population which some people thought different from the inland population may be gone. These plants were grown from seed from some of those last coastal populations. Wayne Roderick sent bulbs to the Dutch who have tissue cultured this plant and sell it as Fritillaria 'Martha Roderick'. It differs from Fritillaria biflora in that it forms rice grains around the bulbs and F. biflora does not usually increase vegetatively. In my garden this plant is much shorter than F. biflora and blooms much later. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller. The second was taken looking up under the flowers.
The plants shown below were grown from wild-collected seed and may represent the form sometimes called F. roderickii. Photo by Jane McGary
Fritillaria striata is a rare species from the Greehorn Mountains of Kern and Tulare counties, California. It grows in dense clay soils and has pendent fragrant flowers that are white or white tinged red or pink. Photos by Bob Werra.
Fritillaria viridea is native to San Benito County, California where it grows among trees and shrubs and grassy margins and on serpentine soils. Some regard it as a subspecies of Fritillaria affinis. Blooming in spring, it has 7 to 13 small green flowers with brownish red or yellow checkering on the outside. Photo by John Lonsdale.
For more information and to see other Fritillaria species and hybrids, go to the wiki pages listed below
Asian Fritillaria A-J - Asian Fritillaria K-Z - European Fritillaria - Fritillaria index - Miscellaneous Fritillaria
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