Fritillaria imperialis, the crown imperial, imperial fritillary or Kaiser's crown, 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 to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India and the Himalayan foothills. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Austria, Sicily, and Washington State, USA. 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.
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 petaloid 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.
Orchis mascula, the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae.
Lilium pomponium, the turban lily, is a European species of lily native to France, Spain, and Italy.
Fritillaria pyrenaica is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to the Pyrenees in Spain and France. Common names include Pyrenean fritillary and Pyrenean snake's-head. It is a bulbous perennial growing to 45 cm (18 in). The pendent, bell-shaped flowers are borne in spring. They have recurved tepals which are purple tinged with brown and yellow. Like other species in this genus, notably F. meleagris, they are strongly chequered.
Fritillaria pallidiflora is an Asian species of bulbous flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The common name frequently used is Siberian fritillary, a misnomer because the species does not grow in the wild in Siberia.
Fritillaria orientalis is a Eurasian species of monocotyledonous plant in the lily family Liliaceae. It was described by Johann Friedrich Adam in 1805, based on specimens collected in Ossetia.
Fritillaria graeca is a European plant species in the lily 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.
Allium pallens is a species of wild onion native to the Mediterranean region and Middle East from Portugal and Algeria to Iran.
Fritillaria cirrhosa, common name yellow Himalayan fritillary, is an Asian species of herbaceous plant in the lily family, native to China, the Indian Subcontinent, and Myanmar.
Fritillaria messanensis is a European species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to southeastern Europe: Italy, Greece, Albania, former Yugoslavia.
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 crassicaulis is an Asian species of herbaceous plant in the lily family Liliaceae, native to Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in China.
Fritillaria kurdica is a Middle Eastern species of bulb-forming flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. It is native to Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Caucasus. The species is sometimes cultivated in other regions as an ornamental.
Fritillaria gibbosa is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the lily family Liliaceae. It is native to Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Transcaucasia.
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 rhodocanakis is a species of plant in the lily family Liliaceae. In its pure form, it is found only on Hydra Island and on small neighboring islands in Greece. Additional populations occur in the Peloponnisos region of mainland Greece, though the specimens there show some degree of hybridization with F. spetsiotica and F. graeca. In 1987, some of the hybrids were described with the name Fritillaria rhodocanakis subsp. argolica, but this is now generally referred to as Fritillaria × spetsiotica Kamari.
Fritillaria lusitanica is a species of plant in the lily family Liliaceae, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.
