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Vascular Plants of California
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Fritillaria affinis
CHECKER LILY


Higher Taxonomy
Family: LiliaceaeView DescriptionDichotomous Key
Common Name: LILY FAMILY
Habit: Perennial herb from membranous bulb or scaly rhizome. Stem: underground or erect, branched or not. Leaf: basal or cauline, alternate, subopposite, or whorled. Inflorescence: raceme, panicle, +- umbel-like or not. Flower: perianth parts 6 in 2 generally petal-like whorls, often showy; stamens 3 or 6, filaments free or +- fused to perianth, anthers attached at base or near middle; ovary superior or +- so, style 1, entire or 3-lobed. Fruit: capsule or berry. Seed: 3--many, flat or angled, brown to black.
Genera In Family: 16 genera, 635 species: northern temperate. Note: Users strongly encouraged to protect plants by working around need to see underground parts in using keys, e.g., by trying both leads in couplets solely dependent on such characters. Muscari botryoides (L.) Mill. an historical waif in California. Other TJM (1993) taxa moved to Agavaceae (Agave, Camassia, Chlorogalum, Hastingsia, Hesperocallis, Hesperoyucca, Leucocrinum, Yucca), Alliaceae (Allium, Ipheion, Nothoscordum), Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis, Narcissus, Pancratium), Asparagaceae (Asparagus), Asphodelaceae (Aloe, Asphodelus, Kniphofia), Melanthiaceae (Pseudotrillium, Stenanthium, Toxicoscordion, Trillium, Veratrum, Xerophyllum), Nartheciaceae (Narthecium), Ruscaceae (Maianthemum, Nolina), Smilacaceae (Smilax), Tecophilaeaceae (Odontostomum), Themidaceae (Androstephium, Bloomeria, Brodiaea, Dichelostemma, Muilla, Triteleia), and Tofieldiaceae (Triantha). North American species of Disporum now in Prosartes.
eFlora Treatment Author: Dale W. McNeal, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Dale W. McNeal, Thomas J. Rosatti.
Genus: FritillariaView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Common Name: FRITILLARY
Habit: Bulb with 1--several large fleshy scales, 0--many small scales. Stem: erect, simple (0 in non-flowering plants). Leaf: cauline, alternate, subopposite, or whorled below, sessile, linear to +- ovate (1 bulb-leaf in non-flowering plants). Inflorescence: raceme; bracts leaf-like. Flower: generally nodding, bell- or cup-shaped; perianth parts 6 in 2 whorls, each part with distinct glandular area in lower 1/2; stamens 6, included, attached at perianth base, anthers attached +- near middle; ovary +- sessile, style 1, +- entire or 3-branched. Fruit: capsule, loculicidal, thin-walled, +- rounded, 6-angled, or winged, chambers 3. Seed: many, 2 rows per chamber, flat, +- brown.
Etymology: (Latin: dicebox, from fruit shape) Note: Bulbs of some eaten by Native Americans.
eFlora Treatment Author: Dale W. McNeal & Bryan D. Ness
Unabridged Reference: Turrill & Sealy 1980 Hooker's Icones Plantarum 34:1--275
Fritillaria affinis (Schult. & Schult. f.) Sealy
NATIVE
Habit: Large bulb scales 2--5, small 2--20. Stem: 1--12 dm. Leaf: in 1--4 whorls of 2--8 below, alternate above, 4--16 cm, lance-linear to ovate. Flower: nodding; perianth parts 1--4 cm, oblong to ovate, brown-purple mottled yellow to pale yellow-green mottled purple, nectary 1/2--2/3 perianth, lanceolate, yellow with purple dots; style divided 1/2. Fruit: widely winged. Chromosomes: 2n=24,36,48.
Ecology: Common. Oak or pine scrub, grassland; Elevation: < 1800 m. Bioregional Distribution: NW, CaRF, n SNF, CW (exc SCoRI); Distribution Outside California: to British Columbia, Idaho. Flowering Time: Mar--Jun Note: Highly variable; needs study; hybridizes with Fritillaria recurva.
Synonyms: Fritillaria phaeanthera Purdy; Fritillaria affinis var. affinis; Fritillaria affinis var. tristulis (A.L. Grant) Ness, ined.; Fritillaria lanceolata Pursh, illeg.; Fritillaria lanceolata var. tristulis A.L. Grant, illeg. Listed in CNPS Inventory
Jepson eFlora Author: Dale W. McNeal & Bryan D. Ness
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Jepson Video for Fritillaria affinis

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Botanical illustration including Fritillaria affinis

botanical illustration including Fritillaria affinis

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Citation for this treatment: Dale W. McNeal & Bryan D. Ness 2012, Fritillaria affinis, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=76930, accessed on April 16, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 16, 2024.

Fritillaria affinis
click for enlargement
©2008 Keir Morse
Fritillaria affinis  
var. tristulis
click for enlargement
©2017 Steve Matson
Fritillaria affinis  
var. affinis
click for enlargement
©2015 Barry Breckling
Fritillaria affinis
click for enlargement
©2008 Keir Morse
Fritillaria affinis  
var. affinis
click for enlargement
©2010 Barry Breckling

More photos of Fritillaria affinis
in CalPhotos



Geographic subdivisions for Fritillaria affinis:
NW, CaRF, n SNF, CW (exc SCoRI)
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map of distribution 1
(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).





 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.
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All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).