Anne Marie asked, > Hi, all. I am wondering if any of you can talk to me about > these wondrous cups of liquid inside the bell-shaped flowers of > fritillaria. Are these unique to the imperialis varieties? A woman > I'm profiling referred to them as "tears of mary." Have any of you > ever heard this expression? > What is the liquid--is it nectar? Yes, these usually oval parts of the Fritillaria tepal are the nectaries, and the liquid is the nectar. Jane McGary