Fritillaria viridea

San benito fritillary, San Benito Fritillary

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

San benito fritillary is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the southern Coast Ranges in Monterey, San Benito, and San Luis Obispo counties, inhabiting serpentine shrub understory at elevations of 200 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces pale green to dark purple nodding flowers with lanceolate perianth parts 0.9 to 1.8 centimeters long. Growing with stems 30 to 65 centimeters tall, it develops from a large bulb with 3 to 5 primary scales. Its leaves are arranged in one to two whorls of 3 to 4 below the stem, becoming alternate above, with narrowly lanceolate blades 4 to 10 centimeters long. The fruit is distinctively winged, complementing the plant's delicate structure in serpentine landscapes.

Habitat: shrub understory, serpentine

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 200-1500 m

Bioregions: SCoRO?, SCoRI (Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo cos.).

California counties: San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Monterey

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