Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

Plant Identification => Plant Identification Questions and Answers => Topic started by: Steve Garvie on March 29, 2014, 10:37:08 PM

Title: Please help put a name to this Fritillaria.
Post by: Steve Garvie on March 29, 2014, 10:37:08 PM

This Fritillaria survived years of neglect when my interests were elsewhere. The label was lost long ago but I think the initial bulb was of an Eastern Med species that I purchased from Dr Vlastimil Pilous. The three images show the plant over a number of weeks. The twin flowers initially sat below a terminal leaf whorl but then elongated to sit above this. Over the last week the ageing flowers have taken on a beautiful orange-red colouration.

I have plants of serpenticola, sibthorpiana and forbesii in flower for comparison and it's none of them. Could it be carica, rixii or something else?

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/13489805254_f2d3f61f8a_z_d.jpg)

(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5531/13489442735_2b64dd762b_z_d.jpg)

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3668/13489559033_dcdcc0f34f_z_d.jpg)

Title: Re: Please help put a name to this Fritillaria.
Post by: Cyril L on March 29, 2014, 10:58:59 PM

Steve, it is quite amazing that this plant has survived for so long.  I think it is Fritillaria rixii.  Mine is flowering just now and looks similar.

Title: Re: Please help put a name to this Fritillaria.
Post by: Steve Garvie on March 29, 2014, 11:14:30 PM

Quote from: Cyril L on March 29, 2014, 10:58:59 PM

Steve, it is quite amazing that this plant has survived for so long.  I think it is Fritillaria rixii.  Mine is flowering just now and looks similar.

Thanks Cyril!
Is it normal for the ageing flower of this species to take on such a reddish hue?

Title: Re: Please help put a name to this Fritillaria.
Post by: ashley on March 30, 2014, 02:04:26 AM

Very beautiful.

Title: Re: Please help put a name to this Fritillaria.
Post by: Cyril L on March 30, 2014, 08:10:12 PM

Quote from: Steve Garvie on March 29, 2014, 11:14:30 PM

Thanks Cyril!
Is it normal for the ageing flower of this species to take on such a reddish hue?

This is normal.  Mine does that too.

Title: Re: Please help put a name to this Fritillaria.
Post by: Steve Garvie on March 30, 2014, 09:57:43 PM

Quote from: Cyril L on March 30, 2014, 08:10:12 PM

This is normal.  Mine does that too.

Thanks Cyril!
I looked up rixii in Brian Mathew's "The Smaller Bulbs" where there is very little info on the species though it suggests that like drenovskii the style is entire (as can be seen from one of the images above the style is divided into three at the apex in my plant). I gather that Frit euboeica looks very similar but has distal split of the style into three so could my plant be Fritillaria euboeica?
These wee yellow Eastern Med Frits are nothing if not confusing!