| Yellow Himalayan fritillary | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Liliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lilioideae |
| Tribe: | Lilieae |
| Genus: | Fritillaria |
| Species: | F. cirrhosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Fritillaria cirrhosa D.Don | |
| Synonyms | |
Synonymy
| |
Fritillaria cirrhosa, common name yellow Himalayan fritillary, is an Asian species of herbaceous plant in the lily family, native to China (Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan), the Indian Subcontinent (Nepal, Pakistan, India, Bhutan), and Myanmar.
Fritillaria cirrhosa produces bulbs up to 20 mm (0.8 in) in diameter. The stem is up to 60 cm (24 in) tall, usually with one flower at the top, sometimes two or three. Leaves are narrowly lanceolate, usually opposite, sometimes whorled, up to 13 cm (5.1 in) long. Flowers are bell-shaped, yellowish-green to brownish-purple flowers which are usually with a chequered pattern in dull purple. The plant is commonly found in alpine slopes and shrublands of the Himalayas, at altitudes of 2,700–4,000 m (9,000–13,000 ft). It is in danger of extinction, due to be being aggressively collected to make a traditional Chinese medicine, Bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae.
Taxonomy
- Formerly included
Several names have been coined at infraspecific levels (variety, subspecies, and form) for plants once believed to belong to Fritillaria cirrhosa. None of these is currently recognized. Some of the names are regarded as synonyms of Fritillaria cirrhosa not deserving recognition (see synonym list at right). A few others are considered as belonging to distinct species. Those are:
- Fritillaria cirrhosa var. brevistigma, now called Fritillaria yuzhongensis
- Fritillaria cirrhosa var. ecirrhosa, now called Fritillaria sichuanica
- Fritillaria cirrhosa f. glabra, now called Fritillaria taipaiensis
References
- The Plant List
- Flowers of India, Yellow Himalayan Fritillary description and color photos
- Flora of China 川贝母 chuan bei mu Fritillaria cirrhosa
- ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Fritillaria cirrhosa
- Flowers of India, Himalayan Fritillary
- Don, David. 1825. Prodromus Florae Nepalensis 51.
- Yang, Yong Kang & Gesang, Suolang. 1985. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica. Yangling 5(1): 30, as Fritillaria duilongdeqingensis
- Day, Peter D.; Berger, Madeleine; Hill, Laurence; Fay, Michael F.; Leitch, Andrew R.; Leitch, Ilia J.; Kelly, Laura J. (November 2014). "Evolutionary relationships in the medicinally important genus Fritillaria L. (Liliaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 80: 11–19. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.07.024. PMID 25124097.
External links
- Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, 川贝母 Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine in Chinese with many color photos