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Fritillaria atropurpurea

Common name:	Purple Fritillary	Family:	Liliaceae
Author:	Nutt.	Botanical references:	200, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - California to Oregon, N. Dakota and New Mexico.
Habitat:	Rich damp soils in valleys and open woods, also in mountains to near the timberline[212].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	F. adamantina[B,P] F. gracillima[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Spotted Missionbells [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	atropurpurea = dark purple; purpurea = purple;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Lily family

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.6m by 0.05m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from April to May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Root.

Bulb - raw or cooked[212]. Rich in starch[212]. Rather small, it is usually less than 15mm in diameter[235].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Salve.

The plant has been pulverized into a salve and applied to scrofulous swellings[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A woodland plant, preferring light soils[1]. It is best grown in a well-drained sandy woodland soil[42, 90, 134]. Plants are best grown in a bulb frame and kept rather dry in summer[90]. Water should be withheld in summer or hot spells[164].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring[1]. Protect from frost[134]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible and can take a year or more to germinate[134]. Sow the seed quite thinly to avoid the need to prick out the seedlings. Once they have germinated, give them an occasional liquid feed to ensure that they do not suffer mineral deficiency. Once they die down at the end of their second growing season, divide up the small bulbs, planting 2 - 3 to an 8cm deep pot. Grow them on for at least another year in light shade in the greenhouse before planting them out whilst dormant.
Division of offsets in August[1]. The larger bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on in a cold frame for a year before planting them out in the autumn.
Bulb scales[163].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Liliaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[163] RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.
Lots of interesting snippets about plants in the family Liliaceae (in the old, broad sense)

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.