Fritillaria recurva

Quick Characteristics:

Fritillaria recurva is found in southwest Oregon from Douglas County south into Northern California. It is distinguished from other Fritillaria species by its scarlet red color, checkered with yellow on the inside, and recurved tepals. The inside color may be red-on-red or red-on-yellow. The amount of yellow can vary between individuals. The plants have pale green leaves and stems, up to three feet tall but often two feet tall. The leaves are thin, often a half inch at the widest in whorls around the stem similar to Lilium. This species is part of the diverse flora found on Table Rocks in Jackson County in Southern Oregon.

Pictures of the many-scaled bulbs can be seen on the SRGC Bulb Log (BULB LOG 40 --- 30th September 08) here. It shows the many tiny offsets that the bulbs produce, possibly as an "insurance policy" in case the mother bulb dies for some reason (predation, disturbance, etc.)

Fritillaria recurva is suspected to be one of the parents to Gentner’s Fritillary, Fritillaria gentneri, along with Fritillaria affinis. Both F. affinis and F. recurva have been found in close proximity to populations of F. gentneri, so many botanists doubt it is a true species but instead a fertile hybrid showing intermediate characteristics of both parents. To read more about the debated species, see the publications by the Native Plant Society of Oregon (NPSO) Gentner's Fritillary - NPSO and in the Recovery Plan proposed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service Gentner's Fritillary - FWS.

The first two photos below (taken late March 2008 by Mary Gerritsen) are from plants found in northern Napa county growing along the road banks. The next two photos from Calflora were taken by John L. Thompson May 2022 in Mendocino County 19 months after the August Complex Fire of 2020 and shared under a CC BY-NC license.

The first four photos below were taken by John Lonsdale. The last photo was taken by Mary Sue Ittner of a flower blooming March 2010 and growing in a pot in a raised bed. Grown from seed, she had long been convinced she would never see it bloom.

Fritillaria recurva is in bloom in April, possibly as early as March in Southern Oregon on Table Rocks in Jackson County. The photos below were taken in April 2015 by Travis Owen. The first two photos were taken on Upper Table Rock, OR. The remaining photos were taken at a roadside wildflower community at the edge of an oak woodland.

Asian fritillaria a-c - Asian fritillaria d-k - Asian fritillaria l-r - Asian fritillaria s-z - European fritillaria a-o - European fritillaria p-z - Fritillaria index - Miscellaneous fritillaria - North American fritillaria a-l - North American fritillaria m-z