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May 1, 2008 : Fritillaria affinis
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Plant Family / Families: Liliaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Fritillaria affinis (Schult.& Schult.f.) Sealy
Institution: Garry Oak Meadow, University of British Columbia Botanical Garden
Accession Number: 038826-5662-2007
Map Location: via Google Maps
Name Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Thanks once again to Jackie Chambers of UBC Botanical Garden for submitting a photograph and write-up!
Fritillaria affinis has just begun flowering in the Garry Oak Meadow at the UBC Botanical Garden. The meadow is part of a recent initiative to expand the garden's native plant collections. To learn more about this unique and threatened landscape in British Columbia, visit the site of the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team.
Native to western North America, Fritillaria affinis populations can be found in southern British Columbia through to California. Common English names include checker lily, chocolate lily, or mission bells.
Flowers can be single or in clusters of 3-5 and are produced in the spring (April-May). They can range from 1-4cm long, and are often purple as a base colour, then checkered with greenish-yellow dots. In fact, the genus name is based on this checkered pattern: Fritillaria is derived from the Latin fritillus, which means "dice box".
Flower shape and colour can vary significantly depending on location (e.g., see the Pacific Bulb Society Wiki on North American Fritillaria). All flowers are hermaphroditic, though, meaning they have both staminate (pollen-producing) and carpellate (ovule-producing) structures.
This perennial plant can range in height from 10 to 130cm. The leaves can range from 3-15 cm long, and are often arranged in whorls of 3-5 leaves along the stem. Plants emerge from a bulb typically surrounded by smaller bulblets (link to commercial site).
The USDA NRCS has an extensive factsheet about Fritillaria affinis (PDF), including details about the traditional harvest and cultivated management of these bulbs by the Coast and Interior Salish First Nations.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at May 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Comments
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Posted by: Marysia at May 1, 2008 1:04 PM
I hadn't seen this Fritillaria before. It's a handsome one. Native of BC. Very cool. Thank you.
Posted by: van at May 1, 2008 4:17 PM
That's a lovely photo of a lovely flower! It's a bit like our UK fritillaria meleagris (not sure if it's native here but we grow it a lot) but a deeper chocolatey brown than ours.
Jane
Posted by: Jane Harries at May 2, 2008 2:36 AM
lovely interesting flower
also called mission bells
called chocolate also
is it grown for cut flowers
thank you daniel
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at May 2, 2008 3:15 AM
What lovely Photographs. Great colour and I do enjoy the close-ups.
Thank you,
Margret-Rae
Posted by: Margaret-Rae Davis at May 3, 2008 5:08 PM
This is sometimes caled "baby's diaper" lily as suggested by its smell, designed to attract flies for pollination.
Posted by: Robert Mussey at May 4, 2008 3:26 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day and associated images by UBC Botanical Garden staff are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Images and text by non-UBC contributors are copyright the respective photographers / authors (but often have Creative Commons licenses if contributed via Flickr).
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
I love Fritillaria, especially this one. :)