Monthly Archives: March 2011
Fritillaria affinis
Fritillaria affinis is a dark and seductive beauty native to N. America. You can stumble upon them walking the low mountains and foothills from California to British Columbia. Look for them in scrub or thickets near the coast. And if … Continue reading
a couple images of fritillaria imperialis in its native habitat
Fritillaria imperialis is native to the area stretching from eastern Iran to the Himalayan foothills at the western edge. These two images, taken in those very foothills, show imperialis growing like gangbusters. It’s always so satisfying to see something we … Continue reading
fritillaria messanensis
One of the tougher-to-find fritillaries out there. It hails from the Mediterranean and graces any garden or woodland with hanging bells of checkered brown and green with a green stripe down the center of each petal. Fritillaria messanensis blooms in … Continue reading
Fritillaria imperialis
The Crown imperial or Kaiser’s Crown (Fritillaria imperialis) is a member of the genus Fritillaria, family Liliaceae. It is native to a wide stretch from Anatolia across the plateau of Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Himalayan foothills. It is … Continue reading
More about Fritillaria meleagris
They are also known as Guinea Hen Flowers because the checkerboard pattern resembles the patterning on guinea hens, for which reason the species name meleagris means guinea fowl. The genus name means “Dicing Box” & it is easy to imagine … Continue reading
fritillaria fun facts
Fritillaria is a genus of about 100 species of bulbous plants in the family Liliaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name is derived from the Latin term for a dice-box (fritillus), and probably refers to the … Continue reading
fritillaria meleagris
One of my first fritillary loves… When Oscar Wilde speaks of “the diapered fritillary,’ he means the little Checkered Lily (Fritillaria meleagris), for “diapered” is a very old traditional term for either a checkered pattern or the pattern known as … Continue reading