Fritillaria imperialis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Liliales |
Family: | Liliaceae |
Subfamily: | Lilioideae |
Tribe: | Lilieae |
Genus: | Fritillaria |
Species: | F. imperialis |
Binomial name | |
Fritillaria imperialis | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Synonymy
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Fritillaria imperialis, the crown imperial, imperial fritillary, Kaiser's crown, or Kurdish tulip is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to a wide stretch from the Anatolian plateau of Turkey, Iraq and Iran (e.g. Kurdistan [2] [3] [4] ) to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India and the Himalayan foothills. [5] It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Austria, Sicily, and Washington State, USA. [6] [5] [7] The common names and also the epithet "imperialis", literally "of the emperor", refer to the large circle of golden flowers, reminiscent of an emperor's crown. [8]
Fritillaria imperialis grows to about 1 m (3 ft) in height, and bears lance-shaped, glossy leaves at intervals along the stem. It bears a prominent whorl of downward facing flowers at the top of the stem, topped by a 'crown' of small leaves, hence the name. While the wild form is usually orange-red, various colours are found in cultivation, ranging from nearly a true scarlet through oranges to yellow. The pendulous flowers make a bold statement in the late spring garden; in the northern hemisphere, flowering takes place in late spring, accompanied by a distinctly foxy odour that repels mice, moles and other small animals. [8] [9]
Owing to its large size, F. imperialis is pollinated by the Eurasian blue tit, which makes it a rare example of ornithophily at northern latitudes. [10]
The species [11] and the yellow-flowered 'Maximea Lutea' [12] have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [13] Other cultivars in shades of red, yellow and orange, are available.
Like other members of the lily family, F. imperialis is susceptible to depredation by the scarlet lily beetle ( Lilioceris lilii ). [8]
Fritillaria imperialis is easy to grow in well-drained soil in a sunny site. The plant is drought tolerant, and bulbs should be planted in the early autumn. Note that bulbs do not like to be out in the air for long.
A few names have been coined for taxa once considered as belonging to Fritillaria imperialis but now regarded as distinct species:
The flower has a long and deep connection with the history, religion, mythology and folklore of its native Iran and, as a result, has acquired a wealth of evocative vernacular names, often referencing the pendent form of the blossoms and the tear-like nectar drops borne by the six nectaries. In Iranian folklore the nodding flowers are described (in comparison with the upright flowers of tulips) as being 'upside-down', this curious posture being attributed to the plant's bowing its (originally upright) 'head' in sorrow upon the death of a mythological or religious personage. Likewise, the glistening drops of nectar at the base of each flower are described as the tears which the plant weeps in mourning the departed. Depictions of the distinctive inflorescences may be seen on the sculpted capitals of Sassanid columns, as at Taq-e Bostan. F. imperialis is linked to the legend of the tragic death of Siyâvash, (a semi-divine hero in Ferdowsi's prodigious national epic Shahnameh) – whence the common name Ashk-e Sivash ('Tear of Siyâvash'). [14] [15]
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.
Tulipa clusiana, the lady tulip, is an Asian species of tulip native to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and the western Himalayas. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental and is reportedly naturalized in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Greece, and Turkey.
Fritillaria persica is a Middle Eastern species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to southern Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Israel. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in the Lazio region of Italy. It is the sole species in Fritillaria subgenus Theresia.
Fritillaria uva-vulpis, commonly called the fox's grape fritillary, is a bulbous perennial plant belonging to the genus Fritillaria and native to eastern Turkey, north-western Iraq and western Iran. They are mainly found in the wooded foothills of the Zagros, where they grow in damp meadows and cornfields between 900 and 1800 m above sea level.
Fritillaria verticillata is a flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan and the Altay region of Siberia.
Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the Tulipa genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals, internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium, and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae.
Notholirion is a small Asian genus of bulbous plants in the lily family, Liliaceae. It is closely related to Lilium, but each individual flowers only once, and then dies after producing offsets. The bulb is covered by a tunic. Leaves are basal, produced in autumn and winter.
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.
Tulipa humilis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, found in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, Iran, and the North Caucasus region of Russia. The flowers are pink with yellow centers. Its preferred habitat are rocky mountain slopes. It is known by several other names in horticulture.
Fritillaria eduardii is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae, native to Central Asia. It is closely related to the widely cultivated species, F. imperialis, called "crown imperial."
Fritillaria chitralensis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Afghanistan and the Chitral District of northern Pakistan.
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 thunbergii is a flowering plant species in the lily family Liliaceae. It is native to Kazakhstan and in Xinjiang Province of western China, though cultivated in other places and naturalized in Japan and in other parts of China.
Fritillaria tortifolia is a flowering plant species in the lily family Liliaceae. It is found only in the northwestern part of Xinjiang Province, the extreme northwestern corner of China.
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 raddeana is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, distributed in Iran, Turkmenistan and Kashmir. It is a species in the genus Fritillaria, in the lily family Liliaceae. It is placed in the subgenus Petilium. Resembling Fritillaria imperialis, but shorter, it is sometimes referred to as the dwarf crown imperial.
Tulipa montana is a species of tulip native to the mountains of Iran and Turkmenistan. With its deep red petals it has been proposed as a candidate for the Biblical Rose of Sharon, whose identity is unknown.
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