| Where the garden meets the wild | |
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FRITILLARIA FRITILLARY Liliaceae (Lily family) 贝母属 Bei mu shu |
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Fritillaria sewerzowii in our garden. Photograph © Paige Woodward |
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| These choice spring bulbs with nodding, bell-like flowers all come from temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They need a cool period to stimulate growth, then sun to part shade ~ depending on the species ~ with a cool, well aerated root run. Some need a dry summer; others don't care. Some are sweetly perfumed; others attract pollinating flies with a funky, carrion smell that for some people has a primal charm. Rejoice in the beauty of your fritillaries, and don't stick your nose where it won't be pleased. | |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
acmopetala Boiss. subsp. acmopetla
'Brunette'. This is a good garden plant that multiplies fast.
In April-May it has flowers with greenish
outer segments and inner segments that are brown-maroon, especially toward
the base; inside, the flower is yellow. It is native to Turkey.
Our plants descend from bulbs collected in Antalya province at 1000 m
(3300') by Eduard Hanslik of
Prague. They were growing under trees. Give them rich,
well aerated loam in part-day shade.
Height about 50 cm (20"). Zone 6-7. Award of
Garden Merit (Royal Horticultural Society) 1993 to the species in
general. Bulb (Fall shipping only). In Canada C$8.00; elsewhere US$7.25. |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria affinis
(Schult.
& Schult. f.) Sealy. Chocolate lily. Rice-root. Checker-lily. Nodding 2.5-cm (1") bells,
subtly mottled purple-brown and yellow-green, bloom in April-May. The
narrow leaves are in whorls. This is a portmanteau species, most of it formerly called Fritillaria
lanceolata, that is native from British Columbia and Idaho to California.
Wet winter, drier summer. Produces
"rice-grain" bulblets. The plants we offer are SW BC stock from wild seed. Edible. The traditional
flavor picker-upper among First Nations in BC was oolichon grease, the
preserved oil of a fat little fish. Height 25-60 cm (10-16"). Zone 6.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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| Fritillaria
alfredae subsp. glaucoviridis
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
armena
Boiss.
This is a miniature, perfect for a trough or the glasshouse.
Nodding, conical flowers, purple-black with a bloom, open in April-May.
They are usually solitary. Native to NE Turkey. Our bulbs descend from
material collected
in 1982 in Gümüshane
province at 2200-2400 m (7200-9400'). The bulbs are naturally small and produce
many bulblets. Height 6-8 cm (2-3.5"). Zone 6, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $10.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria aurea
Schott. Golden lily. Plump, yellow, square-shouldered
bells with maroon tesselation bloom on short stems among glaucous leaves
in April. As the flower ages, it often blushes red. Our particularly vigorous and large-flowered clone of this dwarf species descends from bulbs collected by Norman
Stevens near Matalya in Turkey in 1979. This treasure needs a dry summer and
a dry winter; we grow it in pots in a cold frame. Try it in a
trough. Height to about
15 cm (6"). Zone 7, possibly colder.
Only a few. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $15.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
bithynica
Baker. This is a riveting selection of a variable species native
to the E Mediterranean. Nodding flowers that are yellow inside and
glaucous green without bloom in March-April
above glaucous foliage. The capsule has 6 vertical ridges instead of 3.
Our plants descend from material collected by
Antoine Hoog and Erich
Pasche in 1983 in W Turkey's Çanakkale province at 500 m (200'). Height 10-15cm
(4-6"). Zone 7? Start out in the glasshouse.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria bucharica
Regel. Flared,
pendulous white flowers with dark green nectaries bloom in April. Mature
bulbs have up to 30 of these flowers on very leafy stems. Native to
Central Asia. Dry summer. Our plants descend from material collected by Leonid
Bondarenko on Mt. Vachsh Nurek in Tajikistan in 1990. Height 20-50 cm (8-20"). Zone 5.
Not available this season. |
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Photograph © Dorrie Woodward
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Fritillaria camschatcensis
(L.)
Ker-Gawler. Black
lily. Northern rice-root. Eskimo potato. Sarana. Black seranna.
Kamchatka lily. The striking flowers,
blooming in May-June, are terminal, flaring, and maroon to black. Their smell of distant, rotting meat disappears in a
day or two. Adapted to wet meadows. Stoloniferous. Produces
"rice-grain" bulblets. Native along the arc of coast from Japan in Asia to
Alaska and Washington in North
America.
A
traditional food of BC First Nations. Botanist friends of ours ate dozens
of bulbs raw one night when they were marooned in the wild. What do
they taste like? "Hazelnuts." Our plants are from wild seed collected on Vancouver Island.
Height 30-80 cm (12-30"). Zone
5.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $10.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
caucasica
Adams. This beauty is close to
F. armena, but twice as tall, with more leaves and larger,
darker flowers. One or two flowers, deep plum with a grey bloom, open in April
amid glaucous leaves. Our plants descend from material collected in
Armenia in the Caucasus Mountains. They do not require a dry winter.
Height 25-35 cm (10-14"). Zone 6, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $14.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
crassifolia
subsp.
kurdica (Boiss. & Noë) Rix. 'Talysh' This
vigorous small clone produces 2-5 flowers in April-May
that are chequered maroon: over green outside and over yellow
inside. Our photo doesn't do justice to this charming, veiled effect. The
leaves are glaucous. This species is a lime lover. Our plants descend from material
collected by Jánis Rukšáns
in the Talysh Range of Azerbaijan in 1987. We have offered this plant
before without the cultivar name. Height 20-30 cm (8-12"). Dry
summer. Zone 6.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $5.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
eduardii Regel. What a gorgeous,
vigorous plant! Its apricot flowers with russet veins evoke helpless
adoration. This is said to be a natural hybrid of F.
imperialis, which is huge, garish orange, and stinks to high heaven, and F.
raddeana, which we love because it is smaller, creamy and odorless.
Found in montane scrub in Tajikistan, F. eduardii blooms in
April-May and is said not to smell. If we plunge our nose
into the flower and sniff hard, we note a mildly funky scent, but it does
not waft about. Zone 6, perhaps
colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $25.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
graeca
Boissier & Spruner. We offer a high-altitude form of
this variable species native to Greece and Bulgaria. Our plants descend
from material collected in alpine meadows at 1800 m (5900') on Mt. Giona,
in Greece's. Fokis province, by Antoine Hoog in 1989. The bulbs were
growing mostly on NW-facing slopes, with Colchicum parnassicum and Corydalis
solida subsp. incisa. Height in cultivation 15 cm
(6"). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $7.25 |
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| Fritillaria
hermonis
Fenzl subsp. hermonis Rix. This choice
plant is named for its home in the Hermon Mountains of Lebanon, where it
dwells in rocky places at up to 1500 m (5000'). One to three green bells,
faintly chequered, are borne on 25-35 cm (10-12") stems in March.
The new leaves are not frost-hardy. This is a treasure for the glasshouse
and the show table.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $19.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria latakiensis
Rix. The dusky flowers, purple tinged with
yellow green, are 30-45 mm (1.3-1.7") long and bloom in April-May.
The narrow leaves are glaucous. This bulb multiplies rapidly; to
ensure flowers as well as offsets, feed it on emergence with a good pinch
of Potassium sulphate (Sulfate of potash). Native to Latakia, on the coast of Syria, and to the
Taurus Mountains of SW Turkey. Our plants descend from material collected
by Ahmet
Atilla in the Taurus in 1973. They need a dry summer with occasional watering.
Height 25-40 cm (10-16").
Zone 7, perhaps colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
minuta Boissier& Noë.
Rare and choice, this tiny May-blooming
species has a
solitary nodding flower, colored apricot to rust, with dark nectaries in a netted yellow interior.
The leaves are bright green.
It is native to SE Turkey around Lake Van, at 1500-2000 m (5,000-7,000').
Our plants descend from material collected at
1650 m (5400') by Hans
Leep and Erich Pasche in 1972. This plant prefers light shade and cool, moist soil, rich in
humus. The bulb is naturally small and produces many offsets. To encourage
flowering, provide a dry summer in shade. Height. 5-10 cm (2-4").
Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $14.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog. |
Fritillaria montana
Hoppe. The
two to four flowers, about 25 mm (1") long and plump like a plum, are lime green heavily chequered
purple-black over brown, and have a spermatic
scent. The leaves are glaucous. Easy, beautiful and stoloniferous. The
species is native to much of Europe. Our bulbs descend from stock
collected in Croatia by Antoine Hoog in 1989. Bloom is early, in March-April. Height 25-40 cm
(10-16"). Dry summer. Zone 6.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $9.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog. |
Fritillaria
nigra Mill. How can you resist? Two to five almost-black flowers per stem bloom
in March-April above glaucous, linear leaves.
The species is widespread in Europe. Our plants are from an old garden
cultivar. Height
30-50 cm (12-20"). Zone 6, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $9.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
pallidiflora
Schrenk. 伊贝母
Yi bei mu (Chinese).
This is a deservedly popular garden plant. Large, square-shouldered,
mimosa-yellow bells with delicate green veins bloom in April above glaucous leaves that are 3-4 cm (1.5") wide.
This species is native to
Kazakhstan and to Xinjiang in China, where it is cultivated for use in
medicine. It prefers part shade and moist soil with no dry period. Our bulbs are of
garden origin. Height 25-45 cm (8-18"). Award
of Garden Merit (Royal Horticultural Society) 1993. Zone 6.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $9.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog.
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
persica
L.'Senköy'
This is a familiar beauty with a twist. The flowers are
plum-colored bells with a glaucous bloom and they rise on tall wands from a whopping
bulb in April-May. As
usual. But the whorled leaves, instead of being parallel to the
ground, are at a 45º
angle, and have more presence because they are twisted and half as wide
as normal. Fritillaria persica is native to a wide swathe from Cyprus through Turkey and Syria to
Iran. Our plants descend from stock collected by Ahmet
Atilla in S Turkey near the village of Senköy.
It happens that in this region F. libanotica (Boiss.) Bak. has also been
found. F. libanotica has flowers like those of F. persica,
plum with bloom, and twisted, 45º
foliage. Coincidence? Height 70-100 cm
(27.5-40"). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Fritillaria pudica
(Pursh) Sprengel.
Yellow
bell. Small, exquisite and super-hardy. All it asks is a cold
winter and a dry summer. The lemon-yellow flowers appear right after snow melts,
aging to saffron or red. Bend low and sniff: they are sweetly perfumed!
Native to sagebrush country from British Columbia to California, Montana
and Wyoming. Produces "rice-grain" bulblets. Our
bulbs descend from garden plants. They survive our heavy coastal rains ~
indeed, they are multiplying ~ in a steep,
gritty bed of mineral soil with extra dolomite scumbled in. Height 10-20 cm
(4-8"). Zone 4.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $6.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria raddeana
Regel ex
Batal. Luxurious umbels of greenish yellow-cream flowers bloom in March-April above
polished green foliage. Native to Central Asia, this plant is related to Fritillaria imperialis,
but
far less common and lacks the gagging odor. It is thought to be one parent
of F. eduardii. Our
plants descend from material collected by Paul Furse in Khorassan
province, NE Iran, in 1966. Height 40-70 cm (16-28").
Dry summer. Zone 4.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $19.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
aff. rhodocanakis Orphanides ex Baker & Turrill subsp.
rhodocanakis. Fat little brown bells, the tips of their
petals brushed with gold, bloom in April amid
lanceolate, glaucous leaves. This species is supposed to be endemic
only to the Greek island of Hydra, off the E Peloponnesus. Our
plants descend from material collected on the mainland nearby, at Didyma,
by Ernst Markus. They were growing in olive groves, the bulbs at a depth
of 30-35 cm (12-14"). They produce bulblets freely. Height 10-20 cm
(4-8"). Zone 7, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $4.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
rhodocanakis
Orphanides
ex Baker & Turrill subsp.
argolica Zaharof.
Endemic to the Greek island of Hydra. Our plants descend from material
collected by Ole
Sønderhousen.
Each
stem bears up
to three
pendant, slightly recurved flowers that are maroon at the base and yellow
on the margins. Bloom time is April. The lanceolate leaves are dark green.
Like the other subspecies, this one produces bulblets freely.
Height
10-20 cm (4-8").
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $4.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
sewerzowii
Regel. Sometimes called Korolkowia
sewerzowii. Robust, floriferous, graceful and subtly colored, this is one of our favorite
plants. Pale greenish-yellow flowers with centres
shading from rust to bitter chocolate bloom in April-May, flaring wide to
display maroon-black anthers. On the outside, the flowers are glaucous
purple-brown shading to yellow. The leaves are thick, lanceolate, glaucous
and up to 4 cm (2") wide. This species is native to screes in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Aghanistan, N Pakistan and
W China. Height 20-30 cm (8-12" ).
Dry winter. Zone 6, possibly colder.
We grow F. sewerzowii both in cold frames and in a roofed rock garden. In the rock garden (bottom photo), the bulbs have gradually worked themselves to the surface, weathering freeze-thaw-freeze and growing fatter each year. If your winters are very hard, though, you might want to plant the bulb a little deeper than usual to foil premature emergence. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $20.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog. |
Fritillaria
sibthorpiana
(Smith) Baker. This choice small fritillary
sends up its yellow bells in April. It is
ideal for pots and troughs, but also does well in the open garden. Give it
well aerated soil in a sunny position. Native to SW Turkey. Our
plants descend from material collected for
Ahmet Atila in near Marmaris,
in Mugla province. Height 10-15 cm (4-6"). Zone 7, possibly
colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $20.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward.
Photographs © Paige Woodward
Photograph © Jim Swayne |
Fritillaria stenanthera
(Regel) Regel. Diminutive lily-trumpets of tenderest apricot
pink bloom in March-May amid glaucous leaves. At the heart of
each flower lies a dark star formed by purple nectaries. Native to Central
Asia. Best grown under cover unless you get almost no rain. The plant
about to unfurl (top left ~ is this not a marvel of packaging?) was grown
here in Chilliwack, in a cold frame, as were the next two. The plant in
soil (bottom left) is growing in a field
in dry eastern Washington state. All our plants descend from material collected by
Vladimír
Vašák
in the
Karzhan-Tau Range of Uzbekistan in 1989. Height 10-15 cm
(4-6"). Dry summer. Zone 6.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $15.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Fritillaria
stribrnyi
Velen.
One or two slender flowers, glaucous green
without and brown within, bloom in April amid
blue-green foliage. The seed capsules are double-edged (with 6 corners
rather than 3), a feature shared with F. bithynica.
Native from S Bulgaria to W Turkey. Our plants descend from material
collected by Vladimir
Vašák
in Turkey's northwestern Edirne province, at 100 m (330') in 1993. Height
25-35 cm (10-14").
Zone 6, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Fritillaria
verticillata Willdenow. 黄花贝母
Huang hua bei mu (Chinese).
This beautiful form of a variable species blooms abundantly in April,
with up to six greenish-white bells on a 30-40 cm (12-16" ) stem. Its
narrow leaves are tipped with tendrils to help it stand up in tall grass.
Native to Kazakhstan, to Siberia in Russia and to Xinjiang in China. Our
plants descend from bulbs collected in the southern Altai Mountains where China and
Kazakhstan meet. Being adapted to harsh conditions, F. verticillata
does well in meagre soil in sun to part shade. It is drought-tolerant once
established. Zone 5, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $17.50 |
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Photograph © Tony Goode |
Fritillaria
whittallii
Baker. This
small, April-flowering beauty has
a flower like Fritillaria meleagris, but more tesselated with
red-brown instead of maroon, and with a grey-green background instead of
white. The
leaves
are
narrow
and glaucous. Native to rocky slopes in SW Turkey. Our bulbs descend
from material collected by
Vladimír
Vašák
on
Yumru Dağ,
Antalya
province, at
1300-1400
m (4300-4600')
in
1993.
Height 15-25 cm (6-10"). Zone 6.
Only a few. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $14.00 |
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| This page was updated May 12, 2008 | |
