FRITILLARIA 



a lover of all fair flowers," by whose "procurement," 

 Parkinson says, it was secured through Turkey. All 

 the remaining kinds are rarer. 



As a rule, the kinds that are chiefly purple or green, 

 or mixtures of both colors, are dull, unattractive and cu- 

 rious compared with the few kinds that have brilliaut 

 yellow or red. Of the duller and purple kinds, 2 of the 

 choicest, next to F. Meleaqris, are /'. tulipifolia (which 

 is tlaraed like a tulip and never checkered) and F. 

 Ciimtschiitcetisis. great masses of which in Alaska make 

 one of the"summersights" remembered by the tourists. 

 The white in Fritillaries is perhaps always more or less 

 greenish, and the white color in F.Meliinjris is as gooil 

 as in anv species. By far the most brilliant of tin- 

 genus is" F. rernrva, which is also the most difficult 

 of culture. Next in brilliancy come F. liitiii, anrat, 

 UofpT riilqe! and pudica, all highly individual and all 

 yellow, some checkered, others not. 



The culture of Fritillaries is rather complicated, 2 

 kinds capable of being naturalized, some cult, in bor- 

 ders, some in rockeries and others in pots. The 

 Crown Imperial, being exceptionally vigorous, requires 

 the deepest planting, richest soil and most room. The 

 earth should be trenched. Well rotted manure may be 

 worked into the soil 6 in. below the bulbs and the bulbs 

 set on a level G in. from the surface of the ground. This 

 species has the largest fls. in the genus. If possible it 

 should be shaded from the midday sun. as southern ex- 

 posures are said to make the fls. smaller and shorter 

 lived. 



In border cultivation the essential peculiarities are a 

 sheltered, shady site, early fall-planting, division every 

 2 or :i vears, and as a rule a warm, deep, sandy loam, 

 which is not too cold or too retentive of moisture. 

 Bullis of the tiiller kinds may be planted 3-4 in. deep; 

 bulbs of the dwarf kinds may be set at half that depth. 

 As all Fritillaries increase rapidly by offsets, it is desir- 

 able to lift and divide the plants at least every 3 years, 

 or the small bulbs will rob the big ones. For the same 

 reason Fritillaries are rarely prop, by seeds. 



The dwarf and rare sorts recjuire more care and de- 

 serve some leaf-mold in their soil. "E. J.," in Gn. 52, 

 pp. 242-244. says that such plants require an evergreen 

 carpet through which they may spring, and recommends 

 ,SV,;»»i Hispuninim or its var. yhiucum as themost per- 

 fpct carpet possible, taking the least from the soil and 

 giving the least possible resistance to the plants below. 

 "Such carpets must of necessity be plants of very dwarf, 

 creeping growth, such as some of the smaller, mossy 

 saxifrages or aubrietias, that do not mind frequent dis- 

 turliance and are easily replaced." For the principles of 

 culture in rockeries and pots, see Alpine Gardens and 

 Bulbs. 



Our native Fritillaries, which include the bright-fld. 

 recnrva and pudica, are confined to the Pacific coast. 

 Of these Carl Purdv makes 2 cultural groups, based on 

 the character of bulb, the kind of soil and the condi- 

 tions of shade. The first group contains F. biflora, Ulia- 

 cen and pliiriftora: the second F. atropurpiirea, roc- 

 ciifii, huH-eoiatn, prn-riflorn. pudica and recurva. The 

 former grow in open fields in heavy clay soils: the lat- 

 ter in shady woods, in well drained soils, but F. pudica 

 does not need as much shade as the others of its group, 

 and must have sandy loam and slight shelter. It is a 

 native of the sandy sage brush region, east of the Sierra 

 Nevada and Cascade Mts. The bulbs of the first group 

 are composed of thick, heavy scales attached to a thin, 

 rhizomatous base; in the second group the bulbs are of 

 one piece, and low-conical in form, their sides thickly 

 covered with small, round, white rice-like offsets. For 

 tho first group Purdy recommends a rich loam, and a 

 slight shade to draw out the stems and prolong the 

 bloom; for the second group a light, loose soil, rich in 

 mold, a sheltered place and considerable shade. At 

 the best these are not profuse in their bloom. E. J. ad- 

 vises that the bulbs of F. recurva should be planted 

 with the least possible delay. 



The key to the various subgenera given below is es- 

 sentially Baker's in his monograph in Latin in .Jour. 

 Linn. Soc. 14:251 (1875); it rarely happens that the 

 botanical and horticultural interests agree in using 

 such simple and obvious characters as those of the bulb 

 and style. The nectaries or glands are less useful and 



FRITILLARIA 



611 



reliable, but they help to give a sense of the natural 

 groups in this large genus. 

 A. Buibs tunicated {i.e., coated). 

 B. St!/te.3-cut. 



D. Gla>ids distinct and 



prominent, equal. Species Subgenera 



E. Glands lonq 1. Eufritillaria 



EE. Glands u-ide 2-14. Monocodon 



DD. Glands obscure, equal, 



lonq NOTHOLIRION 



BB. stifle undiflrled. 



c. GhuiiU •ijuiil, (ihsrure 15-17. Amblikion 



D. Glinids hnnj .'. IS. KoROLKOWIA 



DD. Gilt lids short Ehinopetalum 



AA. Bulbs scalii. 



B. Sti/le undivided 19-21. Therisia 



BB. Sti/le .o-ent. 



c. Capsules acutely angled. 

 D. Fls. solitary or race- 

 mose 22-25. GONIOCAEPA 



DD. Fls. in umbels 2(i. Petilium 



cc. Capsule obtusely angled ..27-30. Liliorhiza 



INDEX. » 



Armena. 16. Libanotica, 20. pudica, 17. 



atropMpurea, 24. liliacea. 28. Pyrenmca, 12. 



aurea, 9. lutea, ». recurva. 27. 



biflora, 29. Meleagris, 1. Raddeana, 26. 



Camschatcensis, 30. meleagroides, 11. Kutlu-inca, 6. 



coccinea. 25. minor. 11. Sewerzowi. 18. 



delphinensis. 3. Moggridgei. 3. Tliulibergi. 4. 



Elwesii. 14. Oranensis, 13. tub.tformis, 3. 



Imperialis. 26. pallidiflora. 10. tulipifoha, 15. 



Kamschatcensis, 30. parvitlora. 23, verticillata. 4. 



lanceolata. 22. Persica, 19. Walujewi, 5. 



latifolia. 7. pluriflora, 21. 27. Whittalll, 2. 



1. Meleigria, Linn. Figs. 871-873. Distinguished 

 from No. 2 by the glands 5-11 lin's bM.- uu.l stigmas 

 half as long as the style. TvcmmIIv I IbL ICugland 

 and Norway, through central Kn, i.. r:,nr;i~us. Gn. 



32:62(i; 47. p. 3:10; :.J. \>.JI:.. - In llie Eng- 

 lish mca.b.ws xvliiii-b nil. I |.nr|.|isb forms 

 are found "birb :„■■■ un.n- ..!■ b'ss check- 

 ered. Tbr Imi.-b bulb L'l-i.w.i-^ keep at 

 least 10 kinds ,li>iin.i. Tb.- .Ntrcmes of 

 color-range are (1) a grccni.sli white, (2) 

 a sufficient degree of purple to make the 

 checkering as distinct as possible, and (3) 

 an approach to yellow. Some kinds bear 

 2-3 fls.; some are double; some fls. spread 

 so widely as to be almost funnel-shaped. 

 Var. cont6rta, an old monstrosity, instead 

 and pistil of of segments free all the 

 Fritillaria way, and a shouldered 

 Meleaeris. hase, has the lower third 

 From Flora of the perianth united into 

 Danica.show a funnel-shaped tube. The 

 '".ejl''' ^Z^ yellow of some fls. is con- 

 por'^ni'c'h™ jectured to be the result 

 acter in this of a cross with F. lutea 

 genus. made before Gerarde s 



time, say 1630. In Eng- 

 land the species flowers toward the end of form of c 

 April. It is the best"all-round "species. ling in the 



2. -Whittallii, Baker. Height 1 ft.: ^''=^^"=<' 

 stem 1-fld.: Ivs. linear, glaucous: fls. "' 

 checkered green and brown. Mt. Tau- ""i^'fLio 

 rus. Int. 1893. "^ 



3. tubaeS6rmi3, Gren. & Godr. (F. delphinensis, 

 Gren. ) . Distinguished by the glands 3-4 lines long and 

 very short stigmas. Alps. Baker gives the same color 

 range as for F. Meleagris, but "D.K.," in Gn. 32, p. 537, 

 regards as the typical color a purplish brown, faintly 

 marked with yellow, belonging tn a plant that fls. in 

 Julv. However, the most desirable form is var. M6g- 

 gridgei, Boiss. (F. Mi'iggridqei. Hort.),with its '>"ght 

 yellow, checkered inside witli bright red or reddish 

 brown. This is a dwarfer form from the maritime Alps^ 

 with wider Ivs. (6-9 lines), longer stigmatic cusps, ap. 

 preaching J", ^'^crt, and essentially yellow-Hd. G.C. II. 

 13-532. Gn. 18:244. F.M. 1880:405.-11 blooms in mid. 

 April. Var. Bumiti, Planchon, bright plum, checkered 



