Fritillaria cirrhosa, common name yellow Himalayan fritillary,[2] 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.[3][4]

Yellow Himalayan fritillary
Scientific classification Edit this 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
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Baimo cirrhosa (D.Don) Raf.
  • Fritillaria cirrhosa var. bonatii (H.Lév.) S.C.Chen
  • Fritillaria cirrhosa var. brachyantha C.Marquand & Airy Shaw
  • Fritillaria cirrhosa var. dingriensis Y.K.Yang & J.Z.Zhang
  • Fritillaria cirrhosa var. jilongensis Y.K. Yang & Gesan
  • Fritillaria cirrhosa subsp. roylei (Hook.) Ali
  • Fritillaria cirrhosa var. viridiflava S.C.Chen
  • Fritillaria duilongdeqingensis Y.K.Yang & Gesan
  • Fritillaria gulielmi-waldemarii Klotzsch
  • Fritillaria lhiinzeensis Y.K.Yang & al.
  • Fritillaria polyphylla Fortune
  • Fritillaria roylei Hook.
  • Fritillaria zhufenensis Y.K.Yang & J.Z.Zhang
  • Lilium bonatii H.Lév.
  • Melorima cirrhosa (D.Don) Raf.

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).[4][5][6][7] It is in danger of extinction, due to be being aggressively collected to make a traditional Chinese medicine, Bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae.[8]

Taxonomy

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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:

References

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  1. ^ The Plant List
  2. ^ Flowers of India, Yellow Himalayan Fritillary description and color photos
  3. ^ Flora of China 川贝母 chuan bei mu Fritillaria cirrhosa
  4. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Fritillaria cirrhosa
  5. ^ Flowers of India, Himalayan Fritillary
  6. ^ Don, David. 1825. Prodromus Florae Nepalensis 51.
  7. ^ Yang, Yong Kang & Gesang, Suolang. 1985. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica. Yangling 5(1): 30, as Fritillaria duilongdeqingensis
  8. ^ 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.
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