| Fragrant fritillary | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Liliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lilioideae |
| Tribe: | Lilieae |
| Genus: | Fritillaria |
| Species: | F. liliacea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Fritillaria liliacea | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
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.[3][4][5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
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.[4][8]
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.[9]
