Fritillaria liliacea, the fragrant fritillary, is a threatened bulbous herbaceous perennial plant in the lily family Liliaceae. It is native to the region surrounding San Francisco Bay in California, USA.Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 169, Fragrant fritillary, Fritillaria liliacea LindleyBiota of North America Program, 2014 county distribution map, Fritillaria liliacea LindleyCalflora taxon report, Fritillaria liliacea Lindley, fragrant fritillary
Description The bell-shaped white flowers have greenish stripes and are set on a nodding pedicel of about 37 centimeters in height. The blooms are odorless to faintly fragrant.Flora of North America: dichotomous key to Fritillia species of North America Fritillia liliacea prefers heavy soils including clays; for example, andesitic and basaltic soils derived from the Sonoma Volcanic soil layers are suitable substrate for this species.C.Michael Hogan, John Torrey, Brian McElroy et al., Environmental Impact Report, Southeast Santa Rosa Annexation 2-88, Earth Metrics Inc., Report 7941, California State Clearinghouse, Sacramento, Ca., March 1990
Distribution The range of this wildflower is over parts of southwestern Northern California, United States, especially Solano and Sonoma counties and at coastal locations south to Monterey County; occurrence is typically in open hilly grasslands at altitudes less than 200 meters in elevation.Jepson Manual, University of California Press (1993)
This California endemic has been a candidate for listing as a U.S. federally endangered species, and some of the remaining fragmented colonies are at risk of local extinction, such that the species is considered locally endangered. Example occurrences are: Edgewood Park in San Mateo County and the Sonoma Mountains foothills in Sonoma County. Examples of highly fragmented or extirpated colonies are in San Francisco due to urban development.California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2015. Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants, Fritillaria liliacea
See also Sonoma County, California
References
External links Photograph of Fritillaria liliacea, University of California @ Davis Botany club USDA Plant profile for Fritillaria liliacea Fritillariaicones.com" Fritillaria Icones Laurence Hill Scottish Rock Garden Club, Bulb Log 29 (2006) – photos of bulbs of this and several other species.