Fritillaria micrantha, the brown fritillary or brown bells, is a Californian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae.[3]

Fritillaria micrantha
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Subfamily: Lilioideae
Tribe: Lilieae
Genus: Fritillaria
Species:
F. micrantha
Binomial name
Fritillaria micrantha
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Fritillaria parviflora Torr. 1857, illegitimate homonym not Mart. 1838

Description

edit

It grows an erect stem up to 1–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) in height. The long, straight, very narrow leaves grow in whorls about the lower stem and in pairs near the top. The stem has one or more pendent, nodding flowers at each node. The flower has six narrow tepals, each 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) long. They are variable in appearance but are usually purplish to greenish-yellow and often mottled or edged with color. The fruit capsule is winged.[3]

Distribution

edit

This wildflower is native to the Sierra Nevada of California, USA, where it is a common resident of dry mountain slopes, and to the foothills west of the main range. There is also one report of the species in the Diablo Range in San Benito County.[4]

References

edit
edit