COPYRIGHT: All images are © of the respective photographers. THEY MAY NOT BE COPIED AND USED ELSEWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
FRITILLARIA SPECIES: G - L
Each species has been assigned a Cultivation Group, either A, B, C, or D. To view descriptions of these groups, click on Cultivation Groups or scroll to the bottom of this page where they are repeated.
|
Fritillaria gentneri A very similar plant to F recurva which differs by having darker, straight tepals rather than being recurved at the tip as in the latter. It also has a more divided style. It is native to southern Oregon.
Cultivation Group: A but in leafy possibly slightly acid compost. |
  |
|
Fritillaria gibbosa An inhabitant of semi-desert habitats in Iran where it grows in soils which are very pale coloured because they lack humus. It is a member of a group of three very similar species and is not easily distinguished because they tend to hybridise in cultivation. The most notable features are that it has well developed nectaries on the three outer tepals but much smaller one on the inner; the inflorescence has small papillae and the flowers are spotted. Moreover the lowest two leaves are ovate lanceolate, broader than those higher up the stem.
Cultivation Group: C |
    |
|
Fritillaria glauca is a North American species, distributed from the Coastal ranges of Northern California to the Siskiyou Mts. in Oregon. It occurs on rocky slopes, often serpentine.
Cultivation: Not an easy plant to grow, needing deep soil, moist in spring, then fairly dry in summer and autumn. |
    |
|
Fritillaria graeca Classically this should have brown flowers with a green fascia, but this is not always constant. It is widespread in the Peloponnese and southern Attica of Greece, including on all the mountains surrounding Athens. Easily grown.
Cultivation Group: A |
                     |
|
Fritillaria gussichiae The lack of tesselation, the reddish brown marks on the otherwise green flowers and the single bract leaf serve to separate this from FF thessala and pontica. It come from the northern borderlands of Greece and no doubt crosses the border in the neighbouring Balkan countries.
Cultivation: It should be easy to grow as Cultivation Group A in leafy soil kept cool in summer but we have never found it so. |
                   |
|
Fritillaria hakkarensis a snowmelt species restricted to the far SE corner of Turkey and adjacent Iraq.
Cultivation Group: B |
 |
|
Fritillaria hermonis A plant of limestone screes and boulder fields in the dry mountains of the Levant. The ovate-lanceolate nectary and very glaucous leaves serve to distinguish it from its relatives. .
Cultivation Group: B Easy to grow in very gritty soil |
 |
|
Fritillaria imperialis This tall beauty needs no introduction. Many clones are commercially available.
Cultivation: Good garden plants in well-drained soil in full sun. |
       |
|
Fritillaria involucrata One of the species from the Alpes which is closest to the Mediterranean F messanensis from which it differs in the lack of a fascia and its entirely opposite leaves.
Cultivation Group: A with some shade in summer. It can be grown quite easily. |
 |
|
Fritillaria japonica The distinctly divided style, smooth tepal margins and nectaries and the white anthers of this lovely broadly campanulate flower are the characteristics of this Japanese endemic.
Cultivation Group: D with plenty of bark chips. |
 |
|
Fritillaria kaiensis Its white anthers and fimbriate inner tepals serve to differentiate this from the others in the sub genus. This is a Japanese endemic from wooded slopes.
Cultivation Group: D with plenty of bark chips. |
Sorry, we have no photo of this species. Could you provide one?
|
|
Fritillaria karelinii Another of the beautiful, semi-desert dwellers from Central Asia and perhaps the most widespread occurring from the shores of the Caspian Sea through to north-west China. The single nectary on the uppermost outer tepal is the characteristic.
Cultivation Group: C but watered late in the winter to avoid its habit of flowering very early and in poor light. |
 |
|
Fritillaria kittaniae An extremely variable taxon which is probably the result of hybridisation of F carica and F pinardii. The flowers can vary from yellow to brown but most typically are striped with both colours. It is only know from one area north of Kaş in SW Turkey.
Cultivation Group: A Easy to grow. |
 |
|
Fritillaria koidzumiana A Japanese endemic from wooded slopes characterised by its white anthers and fimbriate margins to the nectaries.
Cultivation Group: D with plenty of bark chips |
   |
|
Fritillaria kotschyana A plant of rocky habitat in the Elburz and Talysh mountains of Iran and adjacent Azarbaijan. It can be differentiated from its closest relative F olivieri by its broader leaves and slight tesselation.
Cultivation Group: B Easy to grow. |
         |
|
Fritillaria kurdica A very variable species from the mountains of SE Turkey and adjacent Iraq and western Iran. Note the usually brown flowers with 5 – 7 narrower lanceolate leaves than Fritillaria crassifolia.
Cultivation Group: A or B. Easy to cultivate |
    |
|
Fritillaria latakiensis This is very much like a brown form of F acmopetala but it has narrower flowers with the nectary at the base of the tepal rather than at the angle of the bell.
Cultivation Group: A Easy to grow. |
  |
|
Fritillaria latifolia comes from NE Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits alpine meadows and stony hillsides by late snow patches at 1800 - 3000 m.
Cultivation: Probably best in a bulb frame or alpine house, in rich peaty soil. |
  |
|
Fritillaria legionensis Very like F pyrenaica of which it seems to be a form with three rather one bract leaf.
Cultivation Group: B We have not seen this in cultivation but it should be as straightforward as F pyrenaica. |
Sorry, we have no photo of this species. Could you provide one?
|
|
Fritillaria liliacea A close relative of F biflora and F grayana and it is found in the same clay-grassland habitat near the coast. Like the others it is very restricted in the wild to an area north of San Francisco. Its creamy-white flowers are instantly recognisable.
Cultivation Group: A It is not easy to grow and should be tried in deep pots. |
      |
|
Fritillaria lusitanica Widespread in the Iberian peninsular. Similar to F pyrenaica but has a long linear nectary which stretches for about 1/2 the length of the tepal. Easy to grow.
Cultivation Group: A |
  |
Cultivation Groups
Group A
Those from a Mediterranean-type climate zone at low to medium altitude. The major precipitation is during the winter and early spring but the summer is dry. The bulbs are dormant in summer but often protected from the heat of direct sunlight by tall herbs, shade of trees or by coastal fog.
It is worth trying these in well-drained soil in the open garden but unless your climate is Mediterranean in character, dryness in the summer will usually need to be contrived by overhead protection or planting amongst established, deciduous, shrub or tree roots. These species tend to be straightforward to grow in pots with summer dryness. In the northern hemisphere, watering is best started sparingly from mid-September, increasing once the shoots appear until dormancy sets in in May.
Group B
Those from high altitude and/or inland sites. The major soil moisture in this case is provided by melting snow in the spring and, although occasional thunder storms may occur, the summers tend to be dry but not so hot. In winter the soil is normally covered in snow so the temperature and soil water content is constant for what can be 5 or 6 months of winter during which little growth occurs.
These are normally more difficult in the open garden but can be grown in gritty compost in pots in a cold greenhouse with watering as above. Some benefit from refrigeration in winter in order to maintain dormancy.
Group C
Semi Desert plants. These are from inland sites with cold dry winters, some snowfall, spring snowmelt, and then very dry summers.
In most countries these are not suitable for outdoor cultivation but they grow well in pots in gritty compost under glass. They are best kept dry until early winter when water can be given sparingly until growth appears in spring.
Group D
Those from areas with summer rainfall and cool/cold dry winters. For example, those species from the Himalayas, SW China and NE China, Japan and SE Siberia. These all grow in fairly cool conditions throughout the year, often under protective shade of shrubs or deciduous trees. Snow and snowmelt are important but so is summer rainfall. The main growing season is through spring but root growth can start during the summer, coinciding with the summer rains.
These seem to do quite well in cooler climates grown either in the open garden or in pots of gritty, humus soil, kept outside with perhaps a little protection from excessive winter rain.
Group A
Those from a Mediterranean-type climate zone at low to medium altitude. The major precipitation is during the winter and early spring but the summer is dry. The bulbs are dormant in summer but often protected from the heat of direct sunlight by tall herbs, shade of trees or by coastal fog.
It is worth trying these in well-drained soil in the open garden but unless your climate is Mediterranean in character, dryness in the summer will usually need to be contrived by overhead protection or planting amongst established, deciduous, shrub or tree roots. These species tend to be straightforward to grow in pots with summer dryness. In the northern hemisphere, watering is best started sparingly from mid-September, increasing once the shoots appear until dormancy sets in in May.
Group B
Those from high altitude and/or inland sites. The major soil moisture in this case is provided by melting snow in the spring and, although occasional thunder storms may occur, the summers tend to be dry but not so hot. In winter the soil is normally covered in snow so the temperature and soil water content is constant for what can be 5 or 6 months of winter during which little growth occurs.
These are normally more difficult in the open garden but can be grown in gritty compost in pots in a cold greenhouse with watering as above. Some benefit from refrigeration in winter in order to maintain dormancy.
Group C
Semi Desert plants. These are from inland sites with cold dry winters, some snowfall, spring snowmelt, and then very dry summers.
In most countries these are not suitable for outdoor cultivation but they grow well in pots in gritty compost under glass. They are best kept dry until early winter when water can be given sparingly until growth appears in spring.
Group D
Those from areas with summer rainfall and cool/cold dry winters. For example, those species from the Himalayas, SW China and NE China, Japan and SE Siberia. These all grow in fairly cool conditions throughout the year, often under protective shade of shrubs or deciduous trees. Snow and snowmelt are important but so is summer rainfall. The main growing season is through spring but root growth can start during the summer, coinciding with the summer rains.
These seem to do quite well in cooler climates grown either in the open garden or in pots of gritty, humus soil, kept outside with perhaps a little protection from excessive winter rain.