Yellow Fritillary (Fritillaria pudica)

Uses

Bulb - raw or cooked^[11]^[13]^[3]. It can also be dried for later use^[11]. Rich in starch, it is best used in the autumn^[6]. The raw bulb tastes like potatoes, when cooked it tastes like rice^[8]. It can be eaten as a vegetable or can be added to soups etc^[9]. The green seedpods can be eaten raw or cooked but are bitter^[6]. A delicious flavour^[8].

Plant part: Root

Plant part: Seedpod

Environment

Range

Western N. America - British Columbia to Wyoming, south to New Mexico.

Habitat

Grassland and sagebrush deserts to mixed coniferous forests, also on stony mountain slopes^[12]^[4], 400 - 2000 metres^[14].

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

light shade

Water

moderate

Hardiness

Zone 3+

Soil textures

sandy, loamy

Soil pH

acid, neutral, alkaline

Drainage

well drained

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

Drought

intolerant

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring^[1]. Protect from frost^[2]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible and can take a year or more to germinate^[2]. 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^[4].

Cultivation

Best grown on a gritty well-drained sunny bank^[10]. Plants must be kept dry in the summer^[14]^[2]. A very ornamental plant^[1], but it is not easy to grow outdoors, though it has lived a long time in a bulb frame^[14]. Flowers are produced in 4 - 6 years from seed^[5]. The bulb produces bulbils freely^[14].

References