Fritillaria pudica

Yellow fritillary, Yellow Fritillary

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Yellow fritillary is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern California Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau on grassy, shrubby, and wooded slopes at elevations below 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces nodding yellow to orange flowers with brown lines, aging to a distinctive brick-red color. Growing 0.7 to 3 decimeters tall with a large underground bulb, it emerges with slender stems supporting several alternately arranged leaves. Its linear to lanceolate leaves range from 3 to 20 centimeters long, spreading sparsely along the delicate stem. The plant's unique flower structure features perianth parts 0.8 to 2.2 centimeters long with a green elliptical nectary near the base.

Habitat: Common. Grassy, shrubby, or wooded slopes

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 2100 m

Bioregions: KR, CaR, n SN, MP

California counties: Siskiyou, Modoc, Lassen, Sierra, Plumas, Nevada, Shasta, Trinity, Mendocino, Santa Clara, Lake

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.