Fritillaria species originating in Europe are described on this page. Species P-Z are found on this page.
Fritillaria pontica is native to mountains in Albania, Bulgaria, northern Greece and western Turkey. It grows to 20-38 cm (8-15 inches) and has a whorl of three leaves over the grey-green flowers. It was described by Mathew in The Smaller Bulbs as often having a warm brownish suffusion, especially on the apex and margins of the segments. Inside the green is shaded and veined brown with a band around the petal edges. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner and Bob Rutemoeller. Bob took pictures of the inside of the flowers, but did not note which one was Fritillaria pontica and which one was the subspecies listed below. Perhaps the second one is the subspecies as it has red on the petals.
Fritillaria pontica ssp. substipelata syn. Fritillaria theophrasti has been described as a subspecies found on a Greek Island and having thinner leaves and taller stems. Inside the petals have a deep red patch at the petal tips. I'm not sure what to call this plant grown from seed labeled as this subspecies, but it is surviving in a raised bed in northern California in a deep pot where it probably retains moisture in the summer better than it would in the ground. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Fritillaria pyrenaica L. (syn. Fritillaria nigra Mill.) is from the Pyrenees (southern France and Northern Spain) where it grows on grassy stony slopes and in woods. The most common form has large dark chocolate long bells that are yellow green inside but they can be chequered red and brown with a yellow-green stripe or even yellow.. It flowers in spring. Photos by John Lonsdale. Photos 1-2 are of a robust form and photos 3-4 a cultivar 'Cedric Morris'.
Photos by Ian Young of plants grown as "Fritillaria nigra"
Seed photos by David Pilling, the second is of the same seed as the first but using transmitted light and does not show large embryos. See Fritillaria Germination. The next photo taken 69 days later after the seeds had been exposed to cold (32-40 °F) shows the embryos have developed and germination is taking place.
Fritillaria rhodia is a slender species endemic to the island of Rhodes (Greece) where it grows in different habitats from sea level to about 500 m. The narrow leaves are bluish green, flowers start green and become more yellow as they mature. Photos taken by Oron Peri in his collection.
Fritillaria rhodocanakis is endemic to the Greek island Hydra where it is found growing on limestone hillsides. It blooms in spring and has purple to maroon flowers with yellow tips. Photo by Bill Dijk.
Fritillaria rixii is a Greek species with yellow flowers. Photos by John Lonsdale.
Fritillaria tubiformis is a species found on the grassy slopes in the southern French Alps at altitudes around 1,500 m (5,000'). Several color forms of this species from southeastern France and northern Italy are shown, grown from cultivated seed from a seed exchange and flowering in March in a bulb frame in Oregon. The yellow forms are distinguished as subsp. moggridgei. See also the note under Fritillara latifolia above. The habit of flowering right at ground level is typical and one of the charms of this species; the flowers themselves are relatively quite large. However, height is variable, and the second photo shows taller forms grown from wild-collected seed. Photos by Jane McGary.
The following two pictures of a plant grown in a coldframe were taken on March 27, 2008 in the USDA zone 7 Montgomery County, Maryland, USA garden of Jim McKenney. These appear to be intermediate between the typical form and the yellow form moggridgei.
Fritillaria tuntasia is an easily grown Greek Island species with conical black purple flowers. In habitat it is found in scrub at altitudes to 100 m (300 ft). It prefers a dry summer. Photo by John Lonsdale.
Fritillaria whittallii is from the mountains of southwest Turkey where it grows in rocky places. It grows to 20-25 cm (8-10in) and has chequered green, brown or purple-black flowers. It prefers a dry summer. Photograph by Michael J. Campbell.
Asian fritillaria A-C - Asian fritillaria D-K - Asian fritillaria L-R - Asian fritillaria S-Z - European fritillaria A-N - Fritillaria index - Miscellaneous fritillaria - North American fritillaria A-L - North American fritillaria M-Z