Fritillaria (fritillaries) is a genus of spring flowering herbaceous bulbous perennial plants in the lily family (Liliaceae). The type species, Fritillaria meleagris, was first described in Europe in 1571, while other species from the Middle East and Asia were also introduced to Europe at that time. The genus has about 130–140 species divided among eight subgenera. The flowers are usually solitary, nodding and bell-shaped with bulbs that have fleshy scales, resembling those of lilies. They are known for their large genome size and genetically are very closely related to lilies. They are native to the temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere, from the Mediterranean and North Africa through Eurasia and southwest Asia to western North America. Many are endangered due to enthusiastic picking.
The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair amount of morphological diversity despite genetic similarity. Common characteristics include large flowers with parts arranged in threes: with six colored or patterned petaloid tepals arranged in two whorls, six stamens and a superior ovary. The leaves are linear in shape, with their veins usually arranged parallel to the edges, single and arranged alternating on the stem, or in a rosette at the base. Most species are grown from bulbs, although some have rhizomes. First described in 1789, the lily family became a paraphyletic "catch-all" (wastebasket) group of lilioid monocots that did not fit into other families and included a great number of genera now included in other families and in some cases in other orders. Consequently, many sources and descriptions labelled "Liliaceae" deal with the broader sense of the family.
Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head, chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in the British Isles, simply fritillary. The plant is a bulbous perennial native to the flood river plains of Europe where it grows in abundance.
Sesbania grandiflora, commonly known as vegetable hummingbird, katurai, agati, or West Indian pea, is a small leguminous tree native to Maritime Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The flowers are commonly eaten in Southeast and South Asia.
Fritillaria camschatcensis is a species of flowering plant native to northeastern Asia and northwestern North America, including northern Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, northern Japan, and the Russian Far East. It has many common names, including Kamchatka fritillary and Kamchatka lily.
Fritillaria recurva, the scarlet fritillary, is a North American bulb-forming herbaceous perennial plant in the lily family Liliaceae. It is native to the western United States, from southwest Oregon down to northern California where it grows in the Klamath Mountains, Northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada. Most of the known Californian locations are in the northern half of the state, as far south as Solano and El Dorado Counties, but there are isolated populations in Tulare and Mariposa Counties. The species has also been reported from Douglas and Washoe Counties in Nevada. It grows in dry, open woodlands and chaparral at 300–2,200 metres (980–7,220 ft), and it blooms in spring from February to July.
Fritillaria atropurpurea is a species of fritillary known by several common names, including spotted fritillary, purple fritillary, spotted mountainbells, spotted missionbells, and leopard lily.
Fritillaria graeca is a European plant species in the family Liliaceae. It is native to the Balkans. Some older literature says that the plant can also be found in Serbia, but all these collections are of var. gussichiae, now regarded as a distinct species called Fritillaria gussichiae.
Fritillaria acmopetala, the pointed-petal fritillary, is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to rocky limestone mountain slopes in the Middle East. It was described by the Swiss botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier in 1846.
Alexander Alfonsovich Grossheim was a Soviet botanist of German descent. He traveled widely over the Caucasus region collecting and studying various different plant life. He is most known for Pteridophytes and Spermatophytes species.
Iris spuria subsp. demetrii is a species of the genus Iris, part of a subgenus series known as Iris subg. Limniris and in the series Iris ser. Spuriae. It is a subspecies of Iris spuria, a rhizomatous perennial plant, from the Caucasus region, with blue-violet flowers. It is commonly known as Dimitry iris in Russia. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Fritillaria montana is a European species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to southern and eastern Europe: France, Italy, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, European Russia.
Fritillaria gussichiae is a European plant species in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, and Greece.
Fritillaria karelinii is an Asian species of herbaceous perennial plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Xinjiang.
Fritillaria ussuriensis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Korea, the Primorye Region of Russia, and northeastern China.
Fritillaria drenovskii is a rare European species of plants in the lily family, native to the Thrace region of northeastern Greece, as well as Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria.
Fritillaria assyriaca is a bulbous herbaceous perennial plant occurring in a region stretching from Turkey to Iran. It is a species in the genus Fritillaria, in the lily family Liliaceae. It is placed in the subgenus Fritillaria.
Fritillaria sewerzowii is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, distributed in alpine areas of central Asia. It is a species in the genus Fritillaria, in the lily family Liliaceae. It is placed in the subgenus Korolkowia.
Fritillaria dagana is a rare bulbous herbaceous perennial plant native to Siberia, Russia. It is a species in the genus Fritillaria of the family Liliaceae. It is placed in the subgenus Liliorhiza.
Fritillaria japonica is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, endemic to Japan. It is a species in the genus Fritillaria, in the family Liliaceae. It is placed in the subgenus Japonica.
